Banking heir sues for libel over Peter Mandelson story
Nathaniel Rothschild is suing the Daily Mail over a story which claimed he set up a meeting between Lord Mandelson and a Russian billionaire.
The newspaper’s story, published on May 22nd of this year, was titled “Mandelson, an oligarch and a £500m deal”.
It claimed that Mr Rothschild, of the Rothschild banking dynasty, had gone to great lengths to ensure Lord Mandelson, a friend of his, had attended a 2005 meeting between Oleg Deripaska and US business executives.
At the time of the report, Lord Mandelson, who was until May the most powerful gay man in Britain, was the EU Trade Commissioner.
The newspaper alleged that the meeting was arranged in order for Mr Deripaska to secure information from Lord Mandelson to close a deal.
It went ahead and the Daily Mail claimed it had resulted in the loss of “300 British jobs”.
According to Press Gazette, a writ filed in the high court states that Mr Rothschild is seeking aggravated damages over the story and an injunction banning the repetition of the allegations.
He claims the story seriously damaged his character and reputation, as well as causing him distress, embarrassment and injured feelings.
He also claims the newspaper did not give him a chance to respond to the allegations.
