Parliament and judges clash over privacy law revelation

Giggs, 37, a legend of the game and role model to millions around the world, was named by Lib Dem MP John Hemming in the Commons yesterday as the married footballer who took out an injunction to gag allegations of an affair with reality TV star Imogen Thomas.

The MP used Parliamentary privilege – an ancient law allowing MPs to discuss any subject without fear of rebuke – to name Giggs during a Commons debate on the use of injunctions, where it was announced a new cross-party committee is to be set up to consider the issue.

Commons Speaker John Bercow later confirmed the Press were free to report the MP’s words, yet the High Court insisted last night the injunction remains in place.

Mr Hemming’s intervention represents the latest development in a growing confrontation between Parliament and the judiciary over privacy rights.

Last week, a Lib Dem peer used privilege to break another injunction relating to allegations that disgraced banker Sir Fred Goodwin had an affair with a colleague at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

In the Goodwin case, however, the injunction was lifted after he was named in Parliament.

Around the world, newspapers not bound by English court rulings have already named Giggs as the player concerned over recent days – including the Sunday Herald in Scotland. Giggs had also been named by tens of thousands of people on the social networking website, Twitter.

But yesterday afternoon an attempt by newspaper lawyers to have the injunction lifted owing to its “futility” in the face of widespread publicity was rejected by the High Court.

Mr Justice Eady said: “The court’s duty remains to try and protect the claimant, and particularly his family, from intrusion and harassment so long as it can.”

Within minutes of his ruling, Mr Hemming had anyway named Giggs in the Commons debate. The MP for Birmingham Yardley told the House: “With about 75,000 people having named Ryan Giggs on Twitter it’s obviously impracticable to imprison them all.”

Mr Bercow immediately chastised the MP for his actions, saying the debate was “for raising the issues of principle involved, not for seeking to flout (the law) for whatever purpose”.

But he confirmed the Press were free to report the exchange.

The MP later explained that he had decided to name Giggs after the footballer launched legal proceedings against Twitter and “persons unknown” who have used the website to name him.

The MP said: “When he sued Twitter and showed he was going to go after relatively ordinary people and try to prosecute them for gossiping about him on a matter of trivia, I think he has to be held to account for that.”

Earlier, Prime Minister David Cameron said he knew the footballer’s identity “like everybody else”, and that banning newspapers from naming such stars while the information was widely available online was “unsustainable”.

But despite his comments, and widespread reporting of the day’s events in the Commons, judges still refused to lift the injunction.

Rejecting a third application to lift the order last night, Mr Justice Tugendhat said: “The fact a question has been asked in Parliament seems to me to increase and not decrease the strength of his case that he and his family need protection.”