A British High court has handed down a ruling in a privacy case which has attracted little attention, but which lawyers say will have a significant impact on media organisations.

The Financial Times reports the 40-page decision comes in the first significant privacy case to hit the English courts since Monaco's Princess Caroline won a landmark victory in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg last year. In that ruling, it was found that the German courts had failed to protect the princess' private life from photographers who had snapped her and her family going about their daily lives. But the latest case, which centres on the privacy rights of Canadian folk singer Loreena McKennitt, is the first to test the matter; and, in particular, the extent to which the English courts will entertain offsetting ‘public interest’ arguments from would-be publishers. McKennitt was attempting to prevent publication of significant parts of a book about her life by a former friend. In his decision, the judge found that some, although not all, of the 30-plus items that the singer complained about were intrusive or insensitive and did breach her privacy rights. Lawyers said that key features of the judgment were that it appeared to apply a fairly strict test where would-be publishers were raising a public interest defence after intruding into a celebrity's private life.
Full Financial Times report