Carole Caplin given green light to sue Daily Mail

Former Cherie Blair ‘lifestyle guru’ seeks damages of £250,000 over alleged claims she could sell details of ex-PM’s marriage • Read the judgment in full Carole Caplin, the former “lifestyle guru” to Cherie Blair, has been given the green light to sue the Daily Mail for libel over her alleged portrayal as “some sort of sexpot or randy masseuse”. Caplin, 48, is seeking damages of up to £250,000 from the Associated Newspapers title after a September 2010 article which allegedly suggested that she would disclose “sex secrets” about former prime minister Tony Blair’s wife for £1m. Judge Mrs Justice Sharp on Monday concluded that the article, headlined “Will Carole Caplin lift the lid on Blairs’ marriage?”, was capable of giving rise to the suspicion that she would sell her story for a substantial fee. “It seems to me that an ordinary sensible reader could conclude both that Caplin now has a financial motive to spill the beans, and that she may do so, even though she has said nothing up until now,” Sharp said. “I have concluded that read as a whole, and applying the relevant principles to the issue as it arises now, the article is capable of conveying the suspicion that the claimant will ‘lift the lid on the Blairs’ marriage’ and their ‘sex secrets” for substantial financial reward.” Sharp said it would be for a trial tribunal to conclude what inference is to be drawn from these words. David Price QC, acting for Caplin, told the high court in London in May that the newspaper portrayed his client as a “Svengali or Rasputin figure” in the marriage of Tony and Cherie Blair. Associated Newspapers accepted that, taken on their own, the headlines could foster a suspicion that Caplin was intending to “lift the lid” on the Blairs. However, the publisher argued that the article as a whole was not defamatory. Caplin acted as a “lifestyle adviser” to Cherie Blair during her time at Downing Street. She has given numerous newspaper and magazine interviews about her relationship with the Blairs since leaving to set up a gym. The Daily Mail claimed Caplin had previously turned down an offer of £1m to sell her story, but that she “might now be forced to think again” following the alleged financial failure of her gym. The article also alleged that Caplin had “insisted” Cherie Blair disclose all about her private life. Price told the court that this would lead readers to suspect that Caplin could reveal all for a financial reward. Price argued the article implied that Caplin gave the former prime minister massages of a sexual nature during her time at Downing Street, allegations he described as completely false. He added: “My client’s business involves respect for confidential information – it’s at the heart of what she does, at the heart of this relationship.” • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . Media law Daily Mail Newspapers & magazines Associated Newspapers Daily Mail & General Trust National newspapers Privacy & the media Cherie Blair Tony Blair Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 20, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.