Associated Newspapers has lost an appeal against a £65,000 libel award made to a friend of former Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Sir Ian Blair.

The Daily Mail printed a story on 2 October 2008 headlined, “Met Boss in new ‘Cash for a Friend’ Storm”. The newspaper claimed that Andrew Miller’s IT company benefited from his friendship with Blair when it came to the award of a lucrative Met Police contract.

Miller sued the Mail for libel and won an award of £65,000, following a five-day trial in May 2012.