Celebrity injunction: 'public interest' is nowhere in sight | Michael White

Driving force to lift ban seems to be salacious curiosity and wanton cruelty

When a friend asked me what I thought of the “celebrity threesome” story which has been making so much money for overpaid lawyers I confessed that I didn’t even know who it was supposed to be about and hadn’t tried to find out. So my pal told me. BORING!! Everyone knows about it in the US, Scotland, Sweden and China, goes the outraged cry. Yes, but do they care?

It’s obvious from erudite graphs of online traffic and explosions of indignation at the “gagged” end of Fleet Street that not everyone shares my lack of enthusiasm. Twitter has made harmless fun of the high court injunction against publishing names, since lifted by the appeal court from Wednesday at 1pm, unless the supreme court takes up the case.

Related: 'Celebrity threesome' injunction should be lifted, say appeal judges

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