Sir Elton John has confirmed that he will not challenge the Court of Appeal’s refusal to hear his appeal in a libel claim brought in relation to a spoof diary item published in The Guardian.
Sir Elton had sued in respect of a spoof diary entitled ‘A Peek at the Diary of…’ published in July 2008 arguing that the article suggested that his White Tie and Tiara annual ball amounted to self-promotion and that a smaller amount of money was raised for his Aids Foundation that might have been the case.
His pleaded meaning was struck out in December 2008, Mr Justice Tugendhat ruling that the words complained of could not be understood by a reasonable reader of The Guardian Weekend section as containing a serious allegation, noting that the diary column appeared outside the news section of the newspaper and was less likely to be taken seriously by readers.
Sir Elton sought permission to appeal the Judge’s decision.
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