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Sir Elton sues The Times over tax story

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9th Aug 2012
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Pop star Sir Elton John is suing The Times for libel over two articles he claims falsely linked him to an “immoral” tax avoidance scheme.

In the "How movie millions are moved offshore" articles, the newspaper said Patrick McKenna, chief executive of Ingenious Media, was Sir Elton's former accountant and implied he had been advised to engage in tax avoidance through the use of film finance partnerships.

The day after the article appeared (22 June) The Times published a correction acknowledging that McKenna had never been the star's accountant.

A following clarification added: "We have been asked to make clear that the film finance partnerships arranged by Ingenious Media, whose CEO is Patrick McKenna, do not offer schemes of this type and they have not been involved in moving money offshore to avoid tax. It was not our intention to make such an allegation and we are happy to make the position clear."

However, Sir Elton's lawyers described the four-line apology as "wholly inadequate" and did not have equal prominence to the original articles which appeared on pages one and six of the paper. They added that it deliberately ignored the defamatory impact of the original article.

In particular the musician was concerned about the effect of articles on his charity work.

William McCormick QC said: "The allegations are particularly damaging to the claimant's reputation in the sphere of charity fundraising" and said he would be seeking damages for "the sense of insult and injury.”

Sir Elton has not shied away from libel action against the press in the past and in the 90s also had a high profile falling out with PwC over alleged negligence in managing his affairs.

The case against PwC and John Reid Enterprises led to the details of his spending being discussed in court, revealing he once spent £30m in just under two years.

Sir Elton defended his spending, telling the court in November 2000: "I have no one to leave the money to. I'm a single man. I like spending my money."

As was also the case back then, he has not held back on the details of his finances, but remains very protective of his public perception.

A Times spokeswoman confirmed today that the paper has since lodged an application with the court to determine whether or not the original article was defamatory.

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