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Euan Blair to set new privacy precedent?

April 30, 2009

Here’s an interesting claim. Euan Blair, the 25-year-old son of former Prime Minister Tony and illustrious barrister Cherie, has brought proceedings against the Sunday Express for invasion of privacy.

For years, Tony and Cherie Blair fought to keep their children out of the public eye, reaching various deals with newspapers to help preserve some sense of privacy for them.  Often enough, the newspapers breached the agreements, but short of complaining to the Press Complaints Commission, there wasn’t much the Blairs could do. They were in the politician’s classically invidious position: the law may have been on their side on a given set of facts, but if they used it they would forever alienate Fleet Street, whose finest would, as is their wont, seek revenge.

Now, though, Euan Blair is a young man in his own right. In fact, at 25, he has been for some time. He is a trainee banker, but aside from querying whether banking is the right job for anyone, let alone Euan Blair, there doesn’t appear to be any reason to write about him. He isn’t a public figure, and doesn’t seek to be one.

So in suing the Sunday Express, which ran a diary about his personal life, Euan Blair is making a stand for the offspring of the famous.  His claim seems, at first blush, to be one which Express Group will have a hard time defending. If it pans out in Euan Blair’s favour, the media will have to think twice about similar stories. And the law of privacy will have gone through another hoop.

Pictured courtesy of notchet: Euan Blair graduating (apparently).