A senior banker has been granted an injunction by the High Court that allows his identity and the nature of an affair he has been having with a married colleague to be kept out of the media.
The injunction was granted by the court on Tuesday March 1 against the Sun newspaper. The injunction, also known as a 'gagging order', means the tabloid will not be able to reveal the banker's identity or the details of the affair.
Injunctions of this nature are usually sought by famous sportsmen or celebrities trying to save their public reputation. Damaging stories reported in the papers can have a serious effect on their public image and earning capacity, and therefore injunctions are frantically applied for by their lawyers.
They are often applied for the would-be-published story if it is true as the individual would not be able to claim defamation.
The injunction granted by the High Court on Tuesday is thought to be the first of its kind granted for a business professional. However, it is not the first time a person in a senior financial position has been accused of having an extra-marital affair.
There have been numerous high-profile incidents of senior highly-paid individuals straying, such as Sir Ralph, who ran the Burton Group, and his affair with the topless model Fiona Wright.
However, there can be serious repercussions for the individual and the company for which they work. Shareholders can lose faith in the management of the company and may vote out the offending individual (if a director) or call for their dismissal, and the affair can lead to questions of abuse of power if it was with a work colleague who then received preferential treatment. If the colleague did receive preferential treatment, this could open the company up to claims from employees who have been looked over.
In addition, the individual may be exposed to blackmail.
This particular banker's indiscretions may still be revealed, if not by the Sun then possibly by a rival, as the affair is apparently well known about in the banking circles.
Related Links:
Read more on the story (The Times)
Learn more about defamation claims (FindLaw)
Find local defamation solicitors throughout the UK (FindLaw)
