Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN) has agreed to pay 'substantial damages' to Christopher Jefferies, a retired schoolteacher wrongly arrested for the 2010 murder of Joanna Yeates. The settlement, reached at the High Court in November 2024, relates to the invasion of his privacy by the News of the World, which NGN also published.
Jefferies, a landlord from Bristol, was arrested after Yeates, his tenant, disappeared in December 2010. He was held for three days but later cleared. Vincent Tabak was convicted of the murder and jailed for a minimum of 20 years. Jefferies claimed NGN published private information about him throughout 2011, causing lasting damage to his reputation and relationships.
In court, NGN barrister Mariyam Kamil apologised for the distress caused by the News of the World's intrusion, stating the activity 'should never have taken place'. However, NGN made no admission of liability regarding voicemail interception or unlawful information gathering at the Sun.
This settlement follows a previous apology from Avon and Somerset Police in 2013 for not making Jefferies' innocence clear sooner. Jefferies had described media coverage as a 'character assassination', portraying him as a 'sinister villain'.
