Misuse of Private Information

5RB has been at the forefront of the leading cases that have shaped the law of Misuse of Private Information (“MPI”).

Resolving the tension between the right to private and family life, and the right to freedom of expression remains one of the most important and pressing legal issues of our time. Our barristers are experienced in both making and resisting applications to protect privacy interests. These include urgent injunctions to prevent threatened disclosure, anonymity and other derogations from open justice, delivery up of private material, and reporting restrictions.

5RB barristers are also experts in related areas of law that work to protect privacy interests, such as breach of confidence, harassment, data protection and copyright.

We have unrivalled experience in this area, with our members acting for both claimants and defendants: from foundational cases such as Campbell v MGN (which created the modern law of misuse of private information), Douglas v Hello!, and Mosley v UK, to more recent developments in case law including:

• The phone-hacking group litigation involving the News of the World, Mirror Group Newspapers, News Group Newspapers and Associated Newspapers.
• ZXC v Bloomberg [2022] UKSC 5: The first case to find that a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of being under investigation by an organ of the state.
• WFZ v BBC [2023] EWHC 1618 (KB): Injunction restraining the publication of a proposed BBC report identifying the claimant, a person of high public profile under active criminal investigation for sexual offences.
• Duchess of Sussex v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2021] EWHC 273 (Ch): A claim brought by the Duchess of Sussex concerning the publication in the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline of a letter she had sent to her father after her wedding.

Our expertise in this area of law is further evidenced by the fact that 26 members of 5RB contributed to the latest (fourth) edition of the leading textbook in the area, The Law of Privacy and the Media, which is edited by Adam Speker KC and Professor Nicole Moreham and published by Oxford University Press.