Lord Coe loses court privacy bid

Lord Coe is heading London's bid to stage the Olympic Games

The man heading London's bid to host the 2012 Olympics has failed to stop two Sunday tabloids publishing details about an alleged secret affair.

Lord Coe, the former Olympic gold medallist, had sought the High Court injunctions against The Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Mirror.

He said his privacy was being breached after the newspapers planned to report a woman's claims of a ten-year affair.

Free press

Lord Coe's lawyer, speaking in the High Court, had cited the House of Lords recent privacy ruling in favour of the model Naomi Campbell against the Daily Mirror.

I do not consider there to be a real prospect of success that any injunction granted would become permanent Mr Justice Fulford

Patrick Milmo QC, argued that the Campbell ruling meant Lord Coe's private information could not be "misused".

But the judge, Mr Justice Fulford, found that Lord Coe's right to privacy was outweighed by the woman's right to disclose details and the right of a free press to publish them.

He also said: "I do not consider there to be a real prospect of success that any injunction granted would become permanent."

The newspapers said it was an important ruling for the freedom of the press.

Paul Mottram, the Sunday Mirror's legal adviser, said: "It shows that even after the Naomi Campbell case, people cannot expect to have affairs and run to the court to keep it quiet."

Earlier this month, the former athlete and Tory MP became chairman of the bid to stage the Olympics in London.

His appointment came after the capital city was short listed to go through to the final stages of deciding which city wins the opportunity to hold the games.