Johnson v MGN Ltd

Facts

The claimant, Glen Johnson, is a professional footballer who plays for Portsmouth Football Club, having signed from Chelsea Football Club in August 2007 under a four year agreement. At the time of publication he was in the midst of negotiations about extending his contract with Portsmouth. On 28 December 2008 the defendant, MGN Limited, published in The People an item as the lead story on the back page, headed "Rafa's magic Johnson" with a sub-heading "BENITEZ IN £9M SWOOP FOR POMPEY STAR", together with a fuller article on page 50 reporting that the claimant would complete a move to Liverpool that week, that he had been given a tour of the Melwood training ground before Christmas, and that he had missed the Boxing Day defeat by West Ham "reportedly through injury". The claimant sued in libel, alleging that the words meant he had lied, or been party to a lie, about the reason for his absence, and by way of innuendo, resting on Rule K of the Premier League Rules, that he had made an unauthorised approach to another club while under contract. The defendant applied for a ruling under the practice direction that the words were incapable of bearing the pleaded meanings, or indeed any defamatory meaning.