News UK, publisher of The Sun, has agreed to pay substantial damages to Christopher Jefferies, a retired schoolteacher wrongly arrested for the murder of Joanna Yeates, after admitting to invading his privacy. The settlement was reached in November 2024 at the High Court, where News UK accepted responsibility for the invasion of Jefferies' private life through its now-defunct publication, the News of the World.
Jefferies had taken legal action against News Group Newspapers (NGN) in 2022 over alleged voicemail interception. However, despite NGN denying any wrongdoing, it has since emerged that they agreed to pay damages for the invasion of Jefferies' privacy. The court made it clear, however, that there was no admission of liability regarding Jefferies' claims of voicemail interception and other unlawful information gathering at the Sun.
The News of the World had repeatedly published lurid stories about Jefferies and his life after it emerged that Yeates, who disappeared in 2010, had been his tenant. Jefferies claimed that these articles had a damaging effect on him, including on his relationships with friends. The court found that these publications caused significant distress to Jefferies.
The settlement marks the latest vindication for Jefferies, who was arrested and questioned by police after Yeates' body was discovered in December 2010. Vincent Tabak, a Dutch engineer, was later convicted of Yeates' murder and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison. Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, Jefferies had been subject to a character assassination by some of the media.
Jefferies had taken legal action against News Group Newspapers (NGN) in 2022 over alleged voicemail interception. However, despite NGN denying any wrongdoing, it has since emerged that they agreed to pay damages for the invasion of Jefferies' privacy. The court made it clear, however, that there was no admission of liability regarding Jefferies' claims of voicemail interception and other unlawful information gathering at the Sun.
The News of the World had repeatedly published lurid stories about Jefferies and his life after it emerged that Yeates, who disappeared in 2010, had been his tenant. Jefferies claimed that these articles had a damaging effect on him, including on his relationships with friends. The court found that these publications caused significant distress to Jefferies.
The settlement marks the latest vindication for Jefferies, who was arrested and questioned by police after Yeates' body was discovered in December 2010. Vincent Tabak, a Dutch engineer, was later convicted of Yeates' murder and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison. Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, Jefferies had been subject to a character assassination by some of the media.
can't believe the UK's biggest papers are finally getting what's coming to them! The whole situation with Christopher Jefferies is just shocking, I mean, invading his private life and destroying his reputation over Joanna Yeates' murder... it's just not right. 
Tabak got the punishment he deserved, but Jefferies should never have had to go through that. The fact that they agreed to pay damages without admitting any wrongdoing just highlights how reckless these papers can be with people's privacy and lives. I'm glad he's getting some justice, though! 
. I mean, they were basically invading his private life and publishing these hurtful stories about him. It's not like he was trying to hide anything or ask for attention, just that he happened to be in a relationship with Joanna Yeates... which is still a tragedy 
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. Vincent Tabak might have been convicted, but Jefferies was still unfairly tarnished by these false stories. It's a good thing we're finally seeing some justice 
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just thinking about this case makes me so angry... how can ppl get away with invading others privacy like that? 
news orgs need to learn some accountability 
anyway, i hope Chris Jefferies gets some peace of mind from this settlement 
and hopefully it'll lead to more reform in the industry 
The fact that NGN agreed to pay damages for invading Jefferies' privacy but denied any wrongdoing is just ridiculous. It's like they're trying to cover their tracks or something.
! It's like they finally realized all those years ago that what they did was WRONG 
. All those hurtful stories about him in the news... it's just not right 
. The fact that Vincent Tabak got caught and is serving time for Joanna Yeates' murder is a good thing, but Jefferies should've never gone through this 
. I'm glad he's getting some closure and compensation 
. Sorry, it's just so frustrating when people get treated unfairly like that 
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. I think it's time we start holding these publications accountable for their actions. It's not like they're even sorry or acknowledging that they messed up 
. And what really gets me is that this is just another case of a powerful corporation getting away with it 
