Celebrity Threesome Couple PJS And YMA Could Be Named On Friday If Sun On Sunday Injunction Appeal Succeeds

The Celebrity 'Threesome Injunction' Couple Could Be Named Tomorrow
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The mystery celebrity couple behind the infamous injunction over an extramarital threesome could be named as early as tomorrow (Friday).

A celebrity, identified in court only as PJS, had sex with another couple. He is married to the world-famous YMA, as he was identified in court.

While a US magazine, a Scottish paper and a British politics blog have all named the couple, the injunction forbids them being identified in England and Wales.

Despite the press stories implying pressure is mounting for them to be named amid the "farce" - and examples of other celebrities whose bids for anonymity failed - they remain anonymous a week after stories about the injunction began dominating the newspapers.

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A US magazine, a Scottish paper and a British politics blog have all named the couple
Nick Ansell/PA Wire

An MP was thought to be about to name the couple in the House of Commons, allowing the press to report it, but Speaker John Bercow reportedly warned MPs off it, saying the Commons should not debate active cases.

But on Friday, The Sun On Sunday's appeal against the injunction will be heard.

If the paper wins, and the injunction is lifted, the couple can immediately be named.

The hearing is to be held behind closed doors and the court will issue a judgment on the same day. 

The paper was the one poised to publish the story about the alleged threesome, having interviewed someone from the other couple, when PJS and YMA went to the courts to prevent it.

They won the injunction at the Court of Appeal in January, with judges ruling their children's right to privacy outweighed the paper's right to publish.

The injunction remained relatively unknown until last week, when a US magazine published details of the story, allowing anyone with access to Google to learn the couple's identities.

It triggered a series of articles in the British press decrying that they could not name them and the issue has been in the papers ever since.

The Sun editor Tony Gallagher said 'the law is an ass" in a tweet decrying how his paper could not name the couple.

The terms of the injunction are so strict, we cannot name the US magazine, the Scottish paper or the political blog that have already named the pair.

The blog mocked the injunction, posting a picture of the couple with black slits over their eyes, despite the fact they were clearly recognisable from the photo.

MailOnline did a voxpop of people in Westminster and found a fifth of people they spoke to said they knew the couple's identities, despite the injunction.

 Five celebrities whose attempts to gag the press backfired

Before You Go

5 celebrities whose attempts to gag the press with super-injunctions backfired
1. Jeremy Clarkson(01 of05)
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Back in 2011, Jeremy Clarkson confessed to using a super-injunction to prevent his ex-wife from responding to allegations they had sex while he was still married.

He was initially referred to in reports as "a married TV star" when the injunction was enforced, but Clarkson later revealed himself to be the presenter in question.

He later said: "Injunctions don't work... it's pointless."

The 'Top Gear' star told the Daily Mail: “One, most importantly, injunctions don’t work.

"You take out an injunction against somebody or some organisation and immediately news of that injunction and the people involved and the story behind the injunction is in a legal-free world on Twitter and the internet. It’s pointless."
(credit:Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)
2. John Terry(02 of05)
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Chelsea captain John Terry took out a gagging order preventing newspapers from reporting his affair with the ex-girlfriend of England team-mate Wayne Bridge.

The injunction was heavily criticised and just a few days later was lifted by a judge, who decided that freedom of speech should take precedence over privacy.
(credit:Adam Davy/PA Archive)
3. Ryan Giggs(03 of05)
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The ex-Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs took legal action to secure a super-injunction to stop the press reporting his affair with ex-Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas.

But later that year Twitter users began naming him, a Scottish paper published a poorly anonymised photo of him in connection with the story and Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming used parliamentary privilege to name the man himself.

The footballer gave up all rights to anonymity less than ten months later, in February 2012.
(credit:Richard Sellers/EMPICS Sport)
4. Andrew Marr(04 of05)
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Political stalwart Andrew Marr revealed in 2011 that he had taken out a super-injunction to suppress reports of an affair with a fellow journalist.

The BBC presenter had been criticised by 'Private Eye' editor Ian Hislop, who said that Marr, as a journalist himself, had been a "touch hypocritical".

Hislop said at the time: "As a leading BBC interviewer who is asking politicians about failures in judgment, failures in their private lives, inconsistencies, it was pretty rank of him to have an injunction while working as an active journalist."

Marr said he was "embarrassed" about the gagging order and told the BBC: "I did not come into journalism to go around gagging journalists."
(credit:Steve Parsons/PA Archive)
5. Rio Ferdinand(05 of05)
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Rio Ferdinand, the BT Sport Pundit, lost a High Court privacy action over a story in the Sunday Mirror about an alleged affair.

The married former Manchester United centre-back was seeking substantial damages for "misuse of private information".

In court, the judge, Mr Justice Nicol, smacked down the claim, saying: "Overall, in my judgement, the balancing exercise favours the defendant's right of freedom of expression over the claimant's right of privacy."

He continued: "At one level it was a 'kiss and tell' story. Even less attractively, it was a 'kiss and paid for telling' story, but stories may be in the public interest even if the reasons behind the informant providing the information are less than noble."
(credit:John Walton/PA Wire)