Palace action settled

Press, 4 March 1983, Page 9

Palace action settled

NZPA London A Buckingham Palace action taken against News Group Newspapers, publisher of the “Sun,” and a former Royal servant, Kieran Kenny, has been settled out of court, Buckingham Palace says. The action, taken out two weeks ago, claimed damages against Mr Kenny and the newspaper’s publishers for disclosing details of life inside the Palace. / The writ, taken out in the High Court by Mr Russell Wood, the Queen’s Deputy Treasurer, restrained the “Sun” and Mr Kenny, a former stores clerk at the Palace, from publishing material in breach of an undertaking of confidence he signed when he took up his employment in March, 1981. News Group Newspapers Said then that it would vigorously contest the action, but yesterday’s statement makes it plain that the Palace has come off better in the end. The Palace said that News Group had acknowledged that the “world exclusive” it published on February 21 under the headline, “Queen Koo’s Romps at the Palace” had been in breach of the undertaking of confidentiality given by Mr Kenny. “News Group has itself undertaken not to republish in any form that article nor to publish any further mat-

ters relating to Mr Kenny's employment in the Royal household.

“Mr Kenny has given an undertaking not to make any further breaches of confidentiality. Mr Kenny has agreed to pay a nominated charity all money, being £lOO ($213) received by him from the ‘Sun.’

“News Group will pay £ 4000 ($8562) to a charity nominated by the plaintiff, namely the Newspaper Press Fund, as a mark of its regret.” The Queen is patron of the ftmd, which makes grants and pensions to newspaper workers and their dependants.

The Palace said that News Group would pay all the Palace’s legal costs and concludes: “In the light of the undertakings given by both defendants and the payments made to charity, the plaintiff will not ask for damages and the action will be discontinued.”

Mr Kenny got his job at the Palace two years ago after the Queen took pity on him. He wrote as an unemployed 18-year-old and told her that he had applied for 130 jobs without success.

He left the Palace at the end of January after spending nearly two years as a stores clerk.