The Daily Telegraph is preparing to publish its investigation into allegations of misconduct by Sir Philip Green after the Topshop owner’s legal challenge against the newspaper was formally brought to an end.
It had previously been announced that the retail tycoon would drop the case because it was “pointless” after he was named in parliament as the businessman behind an injunction against the newspaper.
In a ruling on Friday, the judge, Mr Justice Warby granted Green permission to discontinue the proceedings.
Green’s lawyer, who was also representing two of his companies, told the court that going ahead with a trial would have been “worse” than ending the action.
James Price QC said the decision was prompted by Lord Peter Hain’s identification of Green in the House of Lords in October last year, a day after the Telegraph ran a front-page story saying it was prevented from naming a “mystery businessman”.
The injunction was first sought after Green and an executive at his Arcadia firm were contacted by a Telegraph journalist in July last year.
The newspaper intended to publish allegations of misconduct made against Green by the employees, who it was said received substantial payments after settling their claims.
In all five cases, the employees had agreed to keep the details of their complaints confidential under controversial non-disclosure agreements.
In August last year, another judge, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, refused to gag the newspaper, but a challenge was mounted by Green – at the time identified in court papers as ABC – and the two companies.
Court of Appeal judges temporarily barred the newspaper from identifying Green or revealing “confidential information” relating to allegations of misconduct made against him by five employees.
That ban was effectively rendered inactive after Lord Hain’s address to the House of Lords, as convention dictates that comments made in parliament are able to be reported by media in full.
The Labour peer said he had been contacted by someone “intimately involved” in the case and felt it was his “duty” to use the convention, known as parliamentary privilege, to identify the retail mogul.
The Daily Telegraph said on Friday that it would publish its full investigation into allegations against Green and two of his businesses at 9pm GMT.