Financial Times
Rothschild sues news group over Moscow claims
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
3 min read
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights.
Nathaniel Rothschild, the billionaire investor, on Monday began a libel action against Associated Newspapers over an article which alleged that a trip he made with Lord Mandelson was “one of the games Rothschild played to impress [Oleg] Deripaska,” the Russian oligarch.
The article, published in the Daily Mail in May 2010, said that Mr Rothschild had flown Lord Mandelson to Moscow in his private jet. It was here that Mr Mandelson – the then EU’s trade commissioner – attended a dinner which it said resulted in a £500m aluminium deal between Rusal – Mr Deripaska’s aluminium group – and Alcoa, one of the world’s largest aluminium companies.
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights.
Mr Rothschild’s counsel, Hugh Tomlinson QC, argued at the High Court in London that the article made “serious defamatory allegations” and told the court the assertions against Mr Rothschild were “extremely damaging”.
“Although it is true to say that Lord Mandelson is the main focus of the article, Mr Rothschild features as a puppet-master who brings Lord Mandelson into the game,” Mr Tomlinson told the court in his opening statement.
The court heard Mr Rothschild’s testimony that he was “incredibly upset and distressed” at the “extraordinary allegations that [he] had brought Mandelson in to seal a deal” and that they were untrue.
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights.
In December, Associated Newspapers amended its case, after it accepted that it could not show that Lord Mandelson attended the dinner to close the aluminium deal. However, it maintains the article is defensible.
Court documents and testimony reveal that Lord Mandelson accompanied Mr Deripaska, Mr Rothschild and Peter Munk, chairman of Barrick Gold, on a one-day visit to Akaban, Siberia.
Mr Tomlinson said the “trip to Siberia was recreational” and “no business was discussed”.
Lord Mandelson, alongside the other members of the party travelled on Mr Deripaska’s jet and stayed one night at Mr Deripaska’s chalet. The party visited an aluminium smelter and a power station, the court heard.
Lord Mandelson, who served in several Labour cabinet positions under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is not party to the action and will not take part in the trial, according to Mr Tomlinson. The trial continues.
Nathaniel Rothschild, the billionaire investor, on Monday began a libel action against Associated Newspapers over an article which alleged that a trip he made with Lord Mandelson was “one of the games Rothschild played to impress [Oleg] Deripaska,” the Russian oligarch.
The article, published in the Daily Mail in May 2010, said that Mr Rothschild had flown Lord Mandelson to Moscow in his private jet. It was here that Mr Mandelson – the then EU’s trade commissioner – attended a dinner which it said resulted in a £500m aluminium deal between Rusal – Mr Deripaska’s aluminium group – and Alcoa, one of the world’s largest aluminium companies.
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights.
Mr Rothschild’s counsel, Hugh Tomlinson QC, argued at the High Court in London that the article made “serious defamatory allegations” and told the court the assertions against Mr Rothschild were “extremely damaging”.
“Although it is true to say that Lord Mandelson is the main focus of the article, Mr Rothschild features as a puppet-master who brings Lord Mandelson into the game,” Mr Tomlinson told the court in his opening statement.
The court heard Mr Rothschild’s testimony that he was “incredibly upset and distressed” at the “extraordinary allegations that [he] had brought Mandelson in to seal a deal” and that they were untrue.
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights.
In December, Associated Newspapers amended its case, after it accepted that it could not show that Lord Mandelson attended the dinner to close the aluminium deal. However, it maintains the article is defensible.
Court documents and testimony reveal that Lord Mandelson accompanied Mr Deripaska, Mr Rothschild and Peter Munk, chairman of Barrick Gold, on a one-day visit to Akaban, Siberia.
Mr Tomlinson said the “trip to Siberia was recreational” and “no business was discussed”.
Lord Mandelson, alongside the other members of the party travelled on Mr Deripaska’s jet and stayed one night at Mr Deripaska’s chalet. The party visited an aluminium smelter and a power station, the court heard.
Lord Mandelson, who served in several Labour cabinet positions under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is not party to the action and will not take part in the trial, according to Mr Tomlinson. The trial continues.
Previous article
Aluminium's energy nightmare
Next articleGlencore considering Portovesme acquisition?
Grow with
AL Circle
_md.webp)
