Peter Andre accepted “substantial” damages in the High Court from Now magazine yesterday over allegations that he lied when portraying himself as a loving father and husband.
Andre, 36, was present in the London courtroom for a brief hearing before Justice Eady where his solicitor, Gordon Williams, told the judge that the action related to an article published in the weekly gossip magazine in July.
Williams said Now claimed that Andre may have been at fault for two accidents suffered by Harvey, the severely disabled son of his former wife Katie Price.
Williams told the judge: “The article claimed that Mr Andre may have been at fault for two accidents that Harvey suffered whilst Mr Andre and Ms Price were still together, one where he scalded his leg in a hot bath and one where he fell into a mirror.
“It was alleged that Mr Andre had selfishly pursued his own interests in his music studio when he should have been looking after Harvey.”
He said the allegations about Andre as a father and husband were “highly defamatory” and were “particularly upsetting and offensive to Mr Andre because they are simply not true”.
Williams also told the court about Now’s allegation that Andre was an unloving husband.
He said: “Separately, Mr Andre was also said to have demanded sick sexual threesomes from his wife, which horrified her and which she did not enjoy, feeling used and like a sex doll.
“As a result, Mr Andre was said to be lying in portraying himself as a loving father and husband.”
The defendant, IPC Media, publisher of the magazine, agreed to pay Andre a “substantial sum by way of damages and legal fees”.
Paul Fox, solicitor for IPC, told Mr Justice Eady: “The defendant is here today to apologise to Mr Andre for the hurt and damage he has suffered as a result of this article.
“It accepts that the allegations complained of were untrue and regrets that they were published.”
Afterwards Andre said: “Everyone knows that the worst thing anyone could challenge is my parenting skills. Challenge me on anything, but not that.”
He said: “I believe that one of the greatest responsibilities I have is as a parent…I don’t want to have to keep coming back to court, but if that is my only option to prove the point then I will do it.”
Andre and Price last year won a public apology from the News of the World after it published an article which portrayed them as uncaring parents.
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