NAMES IN THE NEWS : Royal Family Story Called ‘Lies’
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LONDON — A British newspaper story claiming that Queen Elizabeth’s nephew Viscount Linley had been banned from a bar for throwing beer around was a “tissue of lies” from start to finish, a judge said today.
Viscount Linley, the 28-year-old son of Princess Margaret and her former husband Lord Snowdon, is the first member of Britain’s Royal Family in this century to bring a libel action to court.
Linley’s action against the newspaper Today was the latest in a series of libel suits against the tabloids brought by celebrities. As the jury retired to consider its verdict, Judge Michael Davies urged it not to award huge damages.
Today said it had printed the story about Linley after being given information by the manager of the bar where the incident was alleged to have happened.
Linley said the article, for which Today later apologized, was damaging to him personally, to his furniture-making business and to the Royal Family.
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