The high court has partially lifted a gagging order brought by Sir Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, just hours after details of his alleged extra-marital affair were made public in the House of Lords.
Mr Justice Tugendhat varied the injunction to allow publication of Goodwin's name, but not details of the alleged relationship and the name of the woman said to be involved.
Goodwin, who obtained the wide-ranging injunction in March, did not oppose the high court's decision.
The injunction – which even prevented Goodwin from being identified as a banker – was raised by Lord Stoneham, a Liberal Democrat peer, earlier on Thursday during a debate in the upper house. Stoneham's comments are protected by parliamentary privilege.
Stoneham, speaking on behalf of fellow Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott, said during the debate: "Would [the speaker] accept that every taxpayer has a direct public interest in the events leading up to the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland?
"So how can it be right for a injunction to hide the alleged relationship between Sir Fred Goodwin and a senior colleague? If true it would be a serious breach of corporate governance and not even the Financial Services Authority would know about it."
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