Police pay damages to model over leak to Sun

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/03/police-pay-damages-to-model-over-leak-to-sun

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A model has accepted undisclosed privacy damages from the Metropolitan police over the sale of information about her by an officer to the Sun.

Sarah Hannon only became aware four years later – in April 2013, when she was notified by officers working for the Operation Elveden investigation – of the precise circumstances of how the article in the newspaper came to be published, solicitor Nicola McCann told Mr Justice Mann at London’s high court.

Hannon said she was shocked and distressed to learn that a police officer could behave in this way and felt very let down and humiliated by the betrayal.

She issued proceedings and the Met admitted that her private information was wrongly disclosed to a journalist and that this constituted a breach of confidence, a misuse of private information and a breach of her Article 8 privacy rights.

McCann said the Met had agreed to pay damages and a contribution to Hannon’s legal costs.

She told the judge that Hannon, who has had a successful career for more than 20 years, had recently settled her claim against the Sun’s publisher over the publication and News Group Newspapers had agreed to pay her damages and contribute to her costs.

Jacob Dean, counsel for the Metropolitan police, said it was accepted there had been a serious misuse of Hannon’s private information, which should never have happened.

He offered sincere apologies for the distress and humiliation Hannon had suffered.