Recent allegations and revelations have once again shaken the public and news industry. The Telegraph announced that they were being held under an injunction, and were prevented from revealing details about non-disclosure deals. This ruling was passed by Sir Terence Etherton, the second most senior judge in England and Wales. This raises the question of whether injunctions should be allowed to limit the freedom of the British press.

NDAs are non-disclosure agreements, typically used commercially and to prevent confidential information from being leaked. These were used by Sir Philip Green, revealed in a scandal that has caused the second wave of #MeToo within the United Kingdom. Green used these NDAs to silence and pay off victims with ‘substantial sums’.

The news that Sir Philip Green was the businessman that had been carrying out Weinstein-like actions was revealed in Parliament by Lord Hain. Hain is the former leader of the House of Commons, who used his parliamentary privilege to announce that Green was the mogul committing unlawful sexual and racist behaviour, although Green quickly denied these claims.

Philip Green is a billionaire British businessman, and the chairman of Arcadia Group. Arcadia group is a company that owns Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins, to name a few. However, profits in this company have recently been falling, and Green’s wrongdoings will do him no favours in attempting to keep him and his billionaire title afloat.

Upon hearing this news, many MPs and newspapers called for Green’s knighthood to be dropped in light of the recent revelations. If his title remains, it sets a precedent for what apparently is acceptable in today’s society. The entire occurrence seems to show another case of rich men being able to use their wealth and power to not only silence their victims but also those that wish to speak out on the matter.

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