Various Claimants v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2020] EWHC 1435 (Ch) (04 June 2020)

Various Claimants v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2020] EWHC 1435 (Ch) (04 June 2020)

Nigel qualifies as a source under section 10; his status as a journalist and payment do not exclude protection; confidentiality agreement, though weak, is sufficient to engage protection; interests of justice do not override source protection for blanket disclosure, but claimants are entitled to redacted copies with only source-identifying material withheld.

Citation
[2020] EWHC 1435 (Ch)
Parties
Claimant: Various Claimants; Defendant: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
04 June 2020
Procedural Posture
Application for Inspection of Disclosed Documents / Judgment on Application
Outcome
Application partially granted
Legal Topics
Protection of Journalistic Sources, Disclosure of Documents, Confidentiality, Contempt of Court
Media Law Civil Procedure Protection of Journalistic Sources Disclosure of Documents Confidentiality Contempt of Court

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Parties

Various Claimants

Claimant

News Group Newspapers Ltd

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Application for Inspection of Disclosed Documents / Judgment on Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether 'Nigel' qualifies as a confidential source under section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981
  2. 2 Whether the interests of justice require disclosure of documents identifying Nigel as a source

Ratio Decidendi

Nigel qualifies as a source under section 10; his status as a journalist and payment do not exclude protection; confidentiality agreement, though weak, is sufficient to engage protection; interests of justice do not override source protection for blanket disclosure, but claimants are entitled to redacted copies with only source-identifying material withheld.

Court Disposition

Application partially granted

Orders

  • Defendant to serve redacted copies of withheld documents, redacting only material identifying Nigel as source of particular information
  • Dates and amounts of payments to be disclosed; only story/tip-identifying information to be withheld