Jordan and Andre win "bad parents" libel case

Thu, Jul 3 05:15 PM

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Celebrity couple Katie Price and her pop singer husband Peter Andre won a public apology and damages on Thursday over a newspaper story which claimed they were bad parents.

The couple had sued the News of the World over an article which their solicitor Mike Brookes said portrayed them as "shocking and uncaring parents who put their own needs above those of their children".

Andre and Price, the former topless model who was known as Jordan, said the story, published in February, had caused them "hurt and damage".

"Pete and I love our kids and would do anything for them. Anyone who has kids can imagine how it would feel to be accused publicly of being bad parents," Price said afterwards.

"We came here today to see that justice was done and that our names were cleared. We believe the record has been set straight."

Brookes said the story included an accusation about an incident in which Price's disabled eight-year-old son by a previous relationship had scalded himself on New Year's Eve 2006.

Brookes said it had suggested that Andre was to blame and that the couple had been ashamed to be interviewed about it by Social Services. However, he said the article omitted to mention that they were completely exonerated from any blame.

He said it had also alleged that the couple, who have two other children, Junior, 3, and Princess Tiaamii, 11 months, neglected Harvey's health by deliberately feeding him a diet of junk food simply because this was more convenient.

"Again this accusation was not true," said Brookes. "Allegations of this nature are of course highly defamatory and they were particularly offensive to the claimants because they are not true."

Andre and Price, who married after meeting on reality TV show "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" in 2004, had actually won separate celebrity parenting awards, he added.

News of the World lawyer Joanna Workman said the paper apologised, accepted the allegations were untrue and regretted that they were published.

They agreed to pay "substantial" damages, half of which would be put in trust for the couple's children and half donated to the NSPCC and The Vision Charity.

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