16/03/2006
NEWS STORY
Tony Purnell (right), the former head of the Jaguar Racing Formula 1 team, has successfully obtained a ruling yesterday in his High Court libel action against Business F1 magazine and its editor Tom Rubython.
Mr Justice Eady held that an attempt by the magazine and Mr Rubython to justify an allegation made in the magazine that Mr Purnell bribed an F1 journalist could not be sustained and should be struck out. Mr Purnell was awarded his costs of the application and he was granted an injunction preventing BusinessF1 from repeating the allegation.
The only issue for the Jury to consider at the forthcoming libel trial is the level of damages that should be awarded to Mr Purnell.
Dominic Crossley of the law firm Steeles who acted for Mr Purnell said: "Mr Justice Eady made it very clear that the serious allegations printed in Mr Rubython's magazine Business F1 could not be proven to be true by Mr Rubython and the magazine. Mr Purnell was determined to show that the material Business F1 had published was untrue and he is rightly delighted at the outcome".
This is the latest in a series of cases brought against Rubython and his magazine, with several more thought to be in the pipeline.
It has been a torrid time for Rubython of late. Earlier this year he was the subject of a sustained campaign on the Wikipedia website, which saw an entry relating to him changed on an almost minute-by-minute basis, with the hapless journalist engaged in a Canute-like attempt to thwart 'contributors' clearly determined to have the last word.
More recently, his Business F1 magazine has been the victim of a spoof website, running under the name of Businessf1.net, whereas the magazine's real website is Businessf1.com.