By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:47 PM on 10th March 2011


Former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin has taken out an super-injunction banning newspapers from calling him a banker.

Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming used parliamentary privilege to name the unpopular former bank chief as the man who went to court to stop media outlets referring to his former role.

Speaking at Business Questions in the Commons, Mr Hemming said: 'In a secret hearing, Fred Goodwin has obtained a super-injunction preventing him being identified as a banker.'

Revelation: Sir Fred Goodwin (left) has been granted a super-injunction, Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming told MPs today

Mr Hemming,who represents Birmingham Yardley said MPs should be given the chance to discuss the increasing use of super-injunctions by the rich and famous.

RISE OF THE CELEBRITY GAGGING ORDER

Super-rich sport and show business stars are increasingly turning to 'gagging orders' to prevent the disclosure of all sorts of private information.

They obtain the rulings using specialist 700-an-hour lawyers claiming their right to privacy would breached by damaging allegations.

But critics claim it is not their privacy that would be threatened by such stories, but lucrative commercial contracts that rely on clean-cut images.

England star John Terry was exposed for having an affair with his team-mates former girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel after his super-injunction failed on the grounds it was used to protect commercial and not private interests.

A number of top sports stars have recently obtained injunctions against the media, including:

  • A Premiership player married with children who prevented claims of a liaison with another woman being published
  • A football manager who halted a cuckolded husband going public with details of an affair with his wife, gained on the grounds that the top manager was trying to rebuild his own family life
  • An international Premiership star caught up in a sex blackmail case involving a liaison in Las Vegas who has kept his identity secret

He said: 'Will the Government have a debate or a statement on the issue of freedom of speech and whether there is one law for the rich, such as Fred Goodwin, and another law for the poor?'

It is not known what the super-injunction relates to.

Leader of the House Sir George Young said a forthcoming Westminster Hall debate would explore freedom of speech, adding: 'I will raise with the appropriate minister the issue he has just raised.'

But Sir George warned MPs about addressing legal proceedings and court responsibilities, saying: 'I think any minister would be cautious about commenting on that.'

Sir Fred, nicknamed 'Fred the Shred' for his ruthless style in cutting costs and conducting takeover deals, presided over the near collapse of RBS, which had to be bailed out by the taxpayer.

Prior to that he was lauded by his peers, named global business leader of the year by Forbes magazine, and knighted by Tony Blair in 2004.

He left RBS with a pension of 700,000 a year and a lump sum of nearly nearly 3million.

Following a public outcry he later agreed to reduce his payout by 200,000 a year.

The near-collapse of RBS, which is now 83 per cent-owned by the taxpayer, arose from a series of takeovers and losses in its investment bank.

After acquiring NatWest in 1999, Sir Fred led a series of takeovers, including a 6.74 billion deal for U.S. bank Charter One in 2004.

RBS also led the consortium that bought Dutch bank ABN AMRO for 59billion in October 2007.

The bank was one of the worst hit by the credit crunch - when banks stopped lending to each other due to market fears over exposure to potential losses on high-risk U.S. mortgages - and in early 2008 it was forced to write off 2.5 billion of investments.

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