Mr Justice Eady, defender of the nation’s privacy

November 15th, 2008, 2:30 am Hobbies Ideas

Privacy is something which Mr Justice Eady considers sacrosanct in his personal life, a view which, his critics say, probably exerts a heavy influence on his courtroom decisions as Britain’s foremost arbiter of the rights of public figures to a private life.

Earlier this week, Mr Justice Eady found himself at the centre of a blistering attack from the most vehement of those critics – Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, who accused him of bringing in a privacy law by the back door with a series of “arrogant and amoral” judgments, including his recent pronouncement that the News of the World had no right to expose Max Mosley’s orgies with prostitutes.

Colleagues describe him as unclubbable, preferring to retire to his London flat or catch the train home to Kent after work rather than going for a drink to unwind. He guards his personal life with such jealousy that his Who’s Who entry contains no details of any hobbies or interests, and few of his neighbours appear to have any idea who he is.

The same cannot be said for national newspaper editors Hobbies Ideas, who have come to dread seeing his name at the top of court papers when the rich and famous try to prevent publication of articles detailing their vices.

Despite the fact that the reporter and photographer had disguised themselves as medical staff to get the pictures, Mr Kaye had no legal protection, which the judge, who was then a recorder, described as “a serious gap in the jurisprudence of any civilised society, Hobbies Ideas if such a gross intrusion could happen without redress”.

His chance to make amends came in 1997, when he was knighted and elevated to the High Court in the year that New Labour came to power. With the new government came the Human Rights Act, the closest thing to a privacy law this country has.

Related posts

• Cities Bridging Gap Between Isolated, Active Older Residents