Former England Captain Rio Ferdinand has lost his libel case in which he attempted to claim £50,000 in damages from The Sunday Mirror. The paper published an article in which 32-year-old interior designer Carly Storey revealed the 13-year long on-and-off affair she had with the footballer. Ferdinand argued that the story was an invasion of his privacy, however Justice Nicol ruled that the story was in fact in the public interest, considering the England Captain is, in effect, a national ambassador.

The British press is no stranger to stories of this nature: high profile footballer has an affair and the woman involved speaks out, often for quite a substantial fee.

There has long been debate over whether such cases are instances of disclosure of information in the public interest, or whether they are simply 'kiss and tell stories' that are simply of interest to the public - and which, therefore, sell papers.

Justice Nicol rueld that The Sunday Mirror was right to publish the article, due to the very public nature of the captaincy and Ferdinand's subsequent role as a national ambassador; hence, the information was "in the public interest".

Ferdinand will now face a £500,000 legal bill. Storey, who was initially paid for her story by The Sunday Mirror, has now given a free interview to the paper explaining the personal emotional significance of the case and justifying her motivations for the case, which the judge described as '"less than noble"'.

Sources: Editors Weblog, The Guardian, The Independent, The Mirror,