Ryan Giggs has lost his damages claim against the Sun newspaper, with a High Court judge throwing the case out on Friday (March 2, 2012). Manchester United and Wales footballer Giggs was granted an injunction in April 2011 after an article in the Sun newspaper claimed an unnamed player was having an affair with model Imogen Thomas.
Despite the order, Giggs was widely identified as the footballer on social networking sites, and in the House of Commons, though he has never publically commented on the story, reports Bbc News. The star's damages case against the Sun was described as "dead in the water" by the newspaper, and the claim was dismissed at the High Court today. During arguments at the early morning hearing, Giggs' lawyer Hugh Tomlinson QC had argued that the newspaper had "misused" private information in the article, despite the footballer not being identified. Mr Tomlinson furthermore stated that his client was pursuing damages for the subsequent re-publication of information in other newspapers and on the internet. He argued that the Sun's initial story had "generated a large media storm" and that damages were about "providing effective protection" for Giggs' right to privacy.