The News of the World saw off an injunction attempt by billionaire Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich over his "close friendship with a stunning brunette" this week.
The NoW put the story to Abramovich at around 5pm on Saturday and were contacted by lawyers Harbottle and Lewis seeking a wide-ranging undertaking that they would not publish any pictures of Abramovich with the woman or any information about their relationship.
The NoW presses were rolling with an alternative front-page story when, at 9.50pm, a judge rejected the injunction, which would have banned the NoW or any other media from printing model Daria Zhukova's name.
This enabled the paper to get the story on to the front page for its second edition. NoW lawyer Tom Crone said the paper had a scored a victory against the fast-developing law of privacy and warned that public figures are increasingly seeking wide-ranging injunctions which could constitute a drastic curb on freedom of the press.
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Photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
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