Eriksson sues over Hello! photos

Sven Goran Eriksson: Seeking damages

England football coach Sven Goran Eriksson is suing Hello! magazine for alleged breach of privacy after it published pictures of his London home.

The 19 June edition of the celebrity publication included a feature on the Swedish manager's new £3m house, including a picture of him relaxing in an armchair in his living room.

Solicitors Osborne Clarke, acting on his behalf, have written to Hello! claiming costs and damages.

Hello! has denied a breach of privacy, and insists the photographs were obtained legitimately, and within the bounds of the Press Complaints Commission code of conduct.

Phil Hall: Denies privacy breach

The magazine's editor-in-chief, Phil Hall, defended the article, entitled: "Sven-Goran Eriksson: The international soccer manager spends £3m on a very English home".

He said: "We follow the PCC code of conduct very carefully and we have not breached it in this case.

"The pictures (of the house interior) were given to us by someone who was living in the house before Mr Eriksson. "They were his pictures, and given to us. It's the kind of story newspapers and magazines have been doing since time immemorial".

Mr Hall said the picture of Mr Eriksson in his armchair was a syndicated photograph from the Daily Telegraph, and was clearly captioned as such.

Mr Eriksson has alleged the photographs were obtained without his authorisation and therefore represent a breach of his privacy.

Hello! lawyer Chris Hutchings confirmed they had received a complaint from Mr Eriksson, and said it would be defended "vigorously".

"The media has got to stand up against privacy claims like this," he said.

Spokesmen for both Mr Eriksson and Osborne Clarke solicitors declined to comment.