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Cherie Blair uses no-win, no-fee deal for libel prosecution despite her six-figure income

Her solicitors Atkins said it had offered to work on a no-win no-fee basis for the former Prime Minister's wife because quashing the story was a matter of strong principle. Her case is being dealt with by Graham Atkins, who founded the firm two years ago. "The principle is deliberately harming our clients' reputations by fabricating stories about their personal relationships," he said. "Atkins tends to only act on CFAs in the case of claims where either the claimant can't afford it - which is obviously not the case with Cherie - or we think that there's a very significant principle that needs to be dealt with. "We do a tremendous amount of action against newspapers in relation to stories about Cherie, and these tend to be resolved before proceedings are issued. Reference Post: https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/cherie-blair-uses-nowin-nofee-deal-for-libel-prosecution-despite-her-sixfigure-income-6681915.html
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Cherie Blair sues over UK phone hacking

  Cherie Blair, the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, has became the latest high-profile figure to lodge a court claim over hacking of her phone. Lawyers for Cherie Blair confirmed they have issued a claim on her behalf, understood to be against News Group Newspapers. Graham Atkins, of Atkins Thomson, said: "I can confirm that we have issued a claim on behalf of Cherie Blair in relation to the unlawful interception of her voicemails." In November, Tony Blair's former communications director Alastair Campbell told the Leveson Inquiry into press standards that he believed a story the Daily Mirror published about Cherie Blair's pregnancy in 1999 may have come from hacking. He admitted he had "no evidence" that journalists intercepted either Cherie Blair's voicemails or those of her lifestyle consultant Carole Caplin, but queried the source of a number of articles about the former PM's wife. Reference Post:  https://www.smh.com.au/world/c...
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Apology to Paolo and Guelfo Marcucci

Our programme, "The Price of Blood", broadcast on 8 October 2006, reported on an unsuccessful prosecution in Italy of Paolo and Guelfo Marcucci, the owners of the Marcucci group of companies which included, at the time, the biopharmaceutical company Sclavo SpA. It was not our intention to allege in the programme that the Marcuccis had sold or distributed blood derivative products that were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C, or which were likely to be infected. Nor did we intend to suggest that as a result they had endangered lives. We accept that these allegations are untrue and regret any impression we gave to the contrary. We have apologised to the Marcuccis and agreed to pay damages and their legal costs. Reference Post:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_9548000/9548226.stm
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Psychic's libel battle ends in victory

W ho? Graham Atkins, 46, founding partner of media specialists Atkins Thomson.Why is he in the news? Represented psychic Sally Morgan in her successful libel action against the publisher of the Daily Mail . The newspaper had accused her of using a hidden earpiece during a Dublin show to receive instructions from her team which she then repeated on stage. The newspaper accepted this was untrue and settled for £125,000 just prior to trial – one of the largest ever pre-action awards. Thoughts on the case: ‘As a psychic, you will always get sceptics and people questioning your integrity, but that is far from a newspaper with enormous circulation saying you have cheated, which can ruin your reputation entirely. The allegation came from a radio phone-in when two ladies said they heard instructions through an open window at the rear of the theatre being repeated on stage. But there was no proof despite the Mail spending 18 months trying to uncover evidence. Reference Post:  https://www....
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Cherie Blair sues News of the World

  Cherie Blair has launched libel proceedings against the News of the World following an article that claimed she was engaged in a "secret feud" with Gordon Brown's wife, Sarah. Blair is demanding an apology and damages over the piece, headlined "War of Silence: Cherie's Secret Feud with PM's Sarah", which appeared in the News International-owned paper on January 27 this year. The wife of former prime minister Tony Blair has instructed law firm Atkins to represent her. Her case is being dealt with by Graham Atkins, who founded the firm nearly two years ago. Atkins has previously represented the Blairs in a number of cases, including the winning of "substantial damages" from Associated Newspapers in November last year for infringement of privacy. Reference Post:  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/04/newsoftheworld.pressandpublishing
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Phone-hacking: Cherie Blair sues Rupert Murdoch's company

Cherie's solicitor Graham Atkins confirmed that a claim had been made "in relation to the unlawful interception of her voicemails" against News International and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who was allegedly hired by the closed tabloid to hack into phones of celebrities and others for information to be used in sensational stories. "I can confirm that we have issued a claim on behalf of Cherie Blair in relation to the unlawful interception of her voicemails. I will not be commenting any further at this time," a statement from Atkins said. News International had settled 37 civil actions in January, and had paid out to another 21 victims of phone hacking earlier this month. The company is also seeking settlement with singer Charlotte Church, whose legal action will proceed to a full trial at the high court on Monday unless it is settled beforehand. Reference Post:  https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/phone-hacking-cherie-blair-sues-rupe...
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Cherie Blair sues News of the World

  Cherie Blair has launched libel proceedings against the News of the World following an article that claimed she was engaged in a "secret feud" with Gordon Brown's wife, Sarah. Blair is demanding an apology and damages over the piece, headlined "War of Silence: Cherie's Secret Feud with PM's Sarah", which appeared in the News International-owned paper on January 27 this year. The wife of former prime minister Tony Blair has instructed law firm Atkins to represent her. Her case is being dealt with by Graham Atkins, who founded the firm nearly two years ago. Atkins has previously represented the Blairs in a number of cases, including the winning of "substantial damages" from Associated Newspapers in November last year for infringement of privacy. Reference Post:  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/04/newsoftheworld.pressandpublishing
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