Success for Paul Sculfor in his privacy claim against MGN Limited

Paul Sculfor, the model, actor and co-founder of the Stride Foundation, has succeeded in establishing his misuse of private information claim against MGN Limited (“MGN”), the publisher of The Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People, was brought in time.

Following a trial in January-February 2026 to decide the preliminary issue of whether Mr Sculfor’s claim (along with four other test cases) was statute-barred, the High Court has confirmed today that his claim was brought within the period allowed by the law under the Limitation Act 1980.

Fancourt J made the decision on the basis MGN concealed its wrongdoing and Mr Sculfor did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence, have discovered he was the victim of MGN’s unlawful activities at an earlier stage since he was “materially” misled by MGN into believing his friends and family were to blame for his private information being published in MGN’s newspaper articles.

Mr Sculfor brought his claim against MGN in June 2021, nearly five years ago.

In Mr Sculfor’s case, MGN has not denied that it unlawfully misused his private information, relying entirely on a limitation defence. Fancourt J noted in his judgment that Mr Sculfor relies on a variety of evidence to support his claim, including call data and private investigator invoices identifying him as the target (along with other private investigator invoices targeting his family members, friends and colleagues).

Mr Sculfor said:

“Words cannot fully express the years of emotional pain and distress this has caused, including the damage to some of my friendships and relationships. It created a constant sense of fear and paranoia that people close to me were speaking about my private life and revealing personal information. This situation has affected not only me, but also my family and friends, and it has had a significant impact on my career.

“I firmly believe that a free press plays an important role in society, but it must operate with honesty, responsibility, and integrity.

“I would like to thank my legal team at Hamlins, especially Ellen Gallagher, for their unwavering support throughout this process. I would also like to thank my counsel team, especially Hugh Tomlinson KC for his guidance and Kirsten Sjøvoll and Hayley Webster.”

Ellen Gallagher, Media Disputes Partner and Mr Sculfor’s lawyer said:

“Mr Sculfor has shown great courage in pursuing his claim for nearly five years in the face of MGN’s tactics which have served to delay its progress, including an unsuccessful attempt to have his claim struck out in 2022. The Court has already found MGN used unlawful techniques to obtain the private information of numerous individuals in the cases of Gulati v MGN Limited in 2015 and Duke of Sussex v MGN Limited in 2023. It is telling that MGN has not denied liability in Mr Sculfor’s case but has instead raised technical legal arguments designed to prevent claimants such as Mr Sculfor from pursuing legitimate claims.

"We are now looking forward to the successful conclusion of Mr Sculfor’s claim.”

Hamlins’ Reputation and Privacy team handles cases involving print and digital media, with a high-profile client list. We are instructed in precedent-setting defamation and privacy cases. The team has established itself as the advisor of choice for public and private figures seeking advice in relation to defamation, reputation management, pre and post publication libel and privacy law.