A law firm which represents Naomi Campbell, Nicole
Kidman and Hugh Grant is also acting for the former director
general of NHS IT Richard Granger.
The firm,
Schillings,
says on its website that it is "one of Britain's top law firms
dedicated to safeguarding the reputations of international
corporations, brands, celebrities and high-profile business
people".
Its clients also include GlaxoSmithKline, the Harrods Group and
the London Stock Exchange.
Schillings says that it "uses the law to protect the
reputations, privacy and confidentiality of clients by helping them
and their PR advisers to manage what is published and broadcast
about them".
Working for Richard Granger
Details of work done by Schillings for Richard Granger emerged
during a Parliamentary
committee hearing earlier this month into press standards,
privacy and libel.
Committee MP Paul Farrelly asked Ian Hislop, the editor of the
magazine Private Eye, for examples of the "chilling" effects of
libel and
conditional
fee arrangements in which claimants pay their legal costs only
if their claim is successful.
Hislop had brought a letter to the committee from Schillings "to
prove the point". He said, "Last week I received this letter from
Schillings, a firm which does a great deal of threatening
newspapers and other publications in terms of privacy.
"Now, Schillings has sent me a letter saying it acts for a man
called Richard Granger." Granger was chief executive of NHS
Connecting for Health, a part of the Department of Health which is
delivering parts of the £12.7bn National Programme for IT. Granger
left the NHS more than a year ago."
Legitimate target of inquiry
Hislop said, "Mr Granger is not involved in a sex scandal... He
is a legitimate target of inquiry for journalists. I have a letter
from Schillings here saying, 'We understand that your journalist
has been approaching various parties to make inquiries'.
"That is it, a lawyer's letter straight in. It quotes
Reynolds [a libel-related case] immediately, 'We remind you
of the recent judgment ... defamatory allegations ...
confidentiality' - it is confidential and private, what we are
asking about, his business life."
Hislop said that Schillings wanted to know all the allegations
and, in advance of publication, what would be said. The law firm
also wanted to know when Private Eye was going to publish. The
letter ended with a threat, said Hislop. "That is a 'chill wind',"
he added.
Privacy law for the rich and powerful
Hislop said his journalist was just "asking questions". He
claimed that the letter was proof that privacy law is used not only
by celebrities. "Straight away, as soon as the celebrities make a
bridgehead, the rich and powerful who want to use it for their own
means come right in behind," he said.
Hislop said that Schillings had marked its letter "Private and
Confidential". He read parts of it because he "assumed it was more
important to tell you [the committee] about it than observe Mr
Schillings' wishes".
Schillings made no comment to Computer Weekly and gave no reply
to our questions.
Photo credit:
casey.marshall/Flickr