Naomi: Winner in court

London, May 6 (Reuters): Supermodel Naomi Campbell scored a legal victory against a tabloid newspaper today, in a case sure to have far-reaching implications for Britain’s celebrity-obsessed media.

Britain’s Law Lords, the country’s highest court, ruled against the Daily Mirror in the final round of a long legal battle which began when the paper ran a story saying, correctly, that Campbell, 33, had visited Narcotics Anonymous.

In 2002, the appeal court had stripped Campbell of £3,500 awarded to her after she successfully sued the Mirror for breaching her privacy by running the story.

But today, the Lords allowed Campbell’s appeal against that ruling, saying she had endured an “invasion” of her privacy.

Lord Hope said: “Despite the weight that must be given to the right of freedom of expression that the press needs if it is to play its role effectively, I would hold that there was here an infringement to Miss Campbell’s right to privacy that cannot be justified.”

Campbell’s lawyer Keith Schilling told reporters: “This not only vindicates her personally, but more importantly it represents a real advancement to the rights of people to maintain important elements of their privacy.

“She was simply determined to fight the cause of an individual’s basic right to be left alone to receive therapy without the glare of the media spotlight.”

The ruling is likely to send a ripple through media in Britain, where the best-selling newspapers are filled daily with images of celebrities, sometimes taken without their knowledge by paparazzi photographers.

The case centred on publication by the Mirror that Campbell had been addicted to drugs, along with details relating to her treatment and a photograph of her leaving a treatment session.

Mirror editor Piers Morgan, under fire this week over his newspaper’s publication of pictures claiming to show British soldiers abusing an Iraqi detainee, poured scorn on the decision.

“This is a very good day for lying, drug-abusing prima donnas who want to have their cake with the media, and the right to then shamelessly guzzle it with their Cristal champagne,” he said in a statement.