The 44-year-old PR adviser sued for compensation and an injunction over 65 articles since her affair with the former secretary of state for energy and climate change became public in June 2012.
The affair was anything but private after Huhne’s divorced his wife, Vicky Price, and admitted to his change of heart. Trimingham then left her partner, with whom she entered into a civil partnership in 2007, to move in with the cabinet minister.
Associated Newspapers had contested the case on the grounds that there was an important public interest in the stories the Daily Mail published about Trimingham. The Daily Mail described Trimingham as a “comedy lesbian from central casting” and referred to the “life and very different loves of the PR girl in Doc Martens.”
Ms Trimingham’s counsel, Matthew Ryder QC, defended his client, claiming the articles about Ms Trimingham’s sexuality and previous relationship with another woman, elicited offensive and sometimes homophobic comments from readers.
He further said that the Daily Mail had a right to freedom of expression but not to abuse her repeatedly under the guise of exercising that freedom. However, Trimingham is not known as a shrinking violet and has been open about her sexuality. She has allegedly even sold stories about other people’s sex lives to the press.
Mr Justice Tugendhat said: “Ms Trimingham was not the purely private figure she claims to be. Her reasonable expectation of privacy has become Limited.” He dismissed her claim, refused her permission to appeal and ordered her to pay £250,000 on account of Associated’s estimate £410,000 legal costs within the 14 days.
Daily Mail journalist Andrew Pierce gave a statement outside high court on Wednesday, saying that the judgement was a “vindication of our journalists and our journalism.”
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