The Daily Mirror has successfully overturned a court ruling which required the newspaper to pay the legal costs run up by supermodel Naomi Campbell in a recent court clash between the two parties over libel claims.
The newspaper was previously ordered to pay Ms Campbell £3,500 in compensation for publishing photographs which the supermodel described as “offensive and distressing” to her. The Daily Mirror was also accused of invading her privacy, as the images related to a period in 2001 when Ms Campbell was reportedly struggling with drug addiction.
As well as the compensation, the newspaper was also ordered by the court to pay the legal costs Ms Campbell had run up during these case, as part of a ‘no win, no fee’ deal. These ‘success fees’ amounted to just over £365,000.
In the latest development in the case, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the order to pay the model’s “disproportionate” costs went against the Mirror’s right to freedom of expression. The order was also based on a British law aimed at covering the costs of people who could not afford their own legal costs, which it was decided does not include Ms Campbell as a wealthy supermodel.
Despite the fact that the Mirror is likely to have had professional indemnity insurance to cover the costs, the newspaper now does not have to pay them.