Action for misuse of private information and/or breach of confidence.
Held: Information relating to the events leading to the removal of a Royal Navy warship commander from that role fell outside the ambit of his private or personal life.
This question of whether this was a private life issue was considered in the context of the a claim under article 8 and/or for breach of confidentiality in relation to investigations by the defendant into complaints about Commander Axon’s conduct as a naval officer. It was accepted that his was a public role, and that his removal from command of a vessel was a ‘public matter’. However, it was argued on his behalf that the reasons for his removal were matters in which he had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Nicol J observed that the claimant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy are relevant to the present case. First, see, the case concerned: ‘the claimant’s role in a very public position. That does not mean that there is nothing about his performance in that role which would attract a reasonable expectation of privacy, but it sets an important context.’
Second, the misconduct in question was both serious and material to the stage 1 question.
Third, the serious and unusual event was bound to become a public fact,
Fourth, the security markings on the relevant personnel documents did not preclude the argument that the claimant did not in fact have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the information that it contained.
Judges:
Nicol J
Citations:
[2016] EWHC 787 (QB), [2016] EMLR 20
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
See Also – Axon v Ministry of Defence QBD 19-Apr-2016
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Cited – ZXC v Bloomberg Lp CA 15-May-2020
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Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Information, Human Rights
Updated: 23 November 2022; Ref: scu.562789