The celebrity threesome injunction couple should be named, a politician who brought down a previous injunction has said, as the matter goes back to court.
Former Lib Dem MP John Hemming, who used parliamentary privilege to break an injunction over Ryan Giggs' alleged affair in 2011, called an injunction preventing newspapers from revealing which married celebrity had an extramarital threesome "silly".
The man, identified in court only as PJS, obtained an injunction to protect the privacy of the children he has with his world-famous spouse, identified as YMA.
But the injunction only has effect in England and Wales, leaving a US magazine, Scottish newspaper and even a blog about British politics free to identify them and anyone with Google able to learn their identities.
The Sun On Sunday, whose original investigation prompted the injunction, is taking the issue to court again today (Friday), after the English press gave the issue saturation coverage while going as far they dare without actually identifying the couple.
Three judges are on Friday listed to analyse an application by lawyers for News Group Newspapers, publishers of The Sun On Sunday, at a Court of Appeal hearing in London.
If the paper wins the case, the couple could be named today.
Hemming told The Press Association the English legal system is in danger of looking "silly" if the bar stays in place.
"This isn't a secret any more," he said. "We have a situation where information has been published in the USA, in Ireland and in Scotland.
"People can find it on the internet. The English legal system just looks silly if this injunction remains. It must be lifted."
Mr Hemming hit the headlines in 2011 when, as an MP, he named Giggs - who was the subject of a similar court injunction - when speaking in the Commons knowing that parliamentary free-speech rules protected him from legal action.
He made the decision after Giggs's name emerged on social media. It allowed the press to name Giggs.
Detail of The Sun On Sunday case emerged in a ruling following a Court of Appeal hearing in London earlier this year.
PJS went to the Court of Appeal after The High Court refused to grant an injunction in January, although it had ordered a temporary block on publication pending the hearing of an appeal.
Lord Justice Jackson said he and Lady Justice King had decided to allow the man's appeal after balancing the man's human right to respect for family life and the newspaper's right to free expression.
Sun on Sunday editors had argued that publication of the story would contribute to on-going debate.
They also said the man and YMA had put "many details of their relationship" into the public domain.
Editors argued that it was therefore in the public interest if an account of the man's "sexual exploits with others" was published.
Lord Justice Jackson said PJS and YMA had disputed that "publication of the story would serve any public interest".
"They denied that the article was relevant to any public debate," said Lord Justice Jackson.
"They maintained that they had not courted publicity about their private life. They said that the various press articles about them were substantially true.
They had been in a relationship for many years. The relationship was an open one.
"YMA accepted that from time to time the claimant had sexual encounters with others. The relationship between the claimant and YMA was one of commitment.
They provided a loving home for their children."
Lord Justice Jackson said he concluded that the human rights balance fell against the newspaper.
"If the (newspaper) publishes the proposed story, this will not set the record straight in any material respect. It will simply reveal that one feature of the claimant's and YMA's long-term relationship is that the claimant is allowed to have occasional sexual encounters with others. That would provide supplementary information, but it would not correct a false image," said Lord Justice Jackson.
"I accept that the claimant is a public figure. This therefore exposes him to comment and criticism in the media."
But he added: "On the other hand ... 'kiss and tell' stories about a public figure which do no more than satisfy readers' curiosity concerning his private life do not serve the public interest."
Lord Justice Jackson went on: ''The proposed story, if it is published, will be devastating for the (man) ... There is also the position of the children to consider. The proposed article would generate a media storm and much public interest in the claimant's family.
"There would be increased press interest in the claimant's and YMA's family life.
"The children would become the subject of increased press attention, with all that that entails. Furthermore, even if the children do not suffer harassment in the short-term, they are bound to learn about these matters from school friends and the internet in due course."
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