Cases

Northern Rock PLC v Financial Times Limited & Others

Held

Citing the Prince of Wales case, there was an important public interest in the observance of contractual duties of confidence. Whilst the financial difficulties of Northern Rock were of very great public interest, public interest could sometime justify publication of information which is the subject of a confidentiality agreement (LRT v Mayor of London), there was no public interest in the publication of the detailed commercial information in the Memorandum posted by the FT. Whether or not prior publication should lead to the refusal of an injunction required a qualitative and not just a quantative assessment. Continued publication of the detail at the FT website might do further harm. Therefore, applying the Cream Holdings criteria, a short lived injunction was needed pending a full hearing.

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