Angeltigger
20-10-2005, 17:22
Beckhams Win Fight to Hear Nanny Tapes
David and Victoria Beckham have won the right to hear tape recordings of interviews given to journalists by their former nanny Abbie Gibson as they prepare for a High Court libel battle.
The couple's high-profile case against the News Of The World is set to start on December 5, when they will seek to refute allegations that they are "cynically and hypocritically" trying to present a false image of their marriage to the public.
They are suing over a September 2004 article entitled "Posh and Becks on Rocks".
At London's law courts, a judge announced his ruling in applications by the Beckhams and the defendant, News Group Newspapers, publishers of the News Of The World, for pre-trial disclosure of documents following a day-long hearing.
Granting an application brought on behalf of the couple, the judge directed disclosure of tape recordings of what Ms Gibson told reporters during interviews which took place on April 21 and 25 this year.
The judge said: "The background to this application is that articles were published in the News Of The World on April 24 and May 1, 2005, based on information provided to the newspaper by Ms Gibson as to matters experienced by her during the course of her employment as the claimants' (Beckhams') nanny."
He added: "Proceedings were brought against Ms Gibson, but not against the newspaper, alleging breach of the terms of a confidentiality agreement. Those proceedings have not yet been resolved.
"The suggested relevance of the recordings... is that damage suffered by the claimants was aggravated by the fact that Ms Gibson was acting in flagrant breach of her contractual and common law duties of confidentiality in providing such information to the defendant."
The judge ruled: "The issue whether it was in the public interest for the disclosures to be made requires full information as to the extent and nature of the disclosures.
"In addition, it may well be that the tapes will be relevant to the question whether Ms Gibson should have appeared to the journalists as being a credible source of information about the claimants."
The judge rejected a number of disclosure applications by News Group Newspapers.
David and Victoria Beckham have won the right to hear tape recordings of interviews given to journalists by their former nanny Abbie Gibson as they prepare for a High Court libel battle.
The couple's high-profile case against the News Of The World is set to start on December 5, when they will seek to refute allegations that they are "cynically and hypocritically" trying to present a false image of their marriage to the public.
They are suing over a September 2004 article entitled "Posh and Becks on Rocks".
At London's law courts, a judge announced his ruling in applications by the Beckhams and the defendant, News Group Newspapers, publishers of the News Of The World, for pre-trial disclosure of documents following a day-long hearing.
Granting an application brought on behalf of the couple, the judge directed disclosure of tape recordings of what Ms Gibson told reporters during interviews which took place on April 21 and 25 this year.
The judge said: "The background to this application is that articles were published in the News Of The World on April 24 and May 1, 2005, based on information provided to the newspaper by Ms Gibson as to matters experienced by her during the course of her employment as the claimants' (Beckhams') nanny."
He added: "Proceedings were brought against Ms Gibson, but not against the newspaper, alleging breach of the terms of a confidentiality agreement. Those proceedings have not yet been resolved.
"The suggested relevance of the recordings... is that damage suffered by the claimants was aggravated by the fact that Ms Gibson was acting in flagrant breach of her contractual and common law duties of confidentiality in providing such information to the defendant."
The judge ruled: "The issue whether it was in the public interest for the disclosures to be made requires full information as to the extent and nature of the disclosures.
"In addition, it may well be that the tapes will be relevant to the question whether Ms Gibson should have appeared to the journalists as being a credible source of information about the claimants."
The judge rejected a number of disclosure applications by News Group Newspapers.