LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - James Dyson, the billionaire inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, on Friday lost a libel lawsuit against a British newspaper publisher over a column that branded him a hypocrite who had "screwed" Britain.
Dyson sued Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publisher of the Daily Mirror, at London's High Court over articles that lambasted him for moving the global head office of his company from Britain to Singapore after championing the economic benefits of Brexit.
Judge Robert Jay dismissed Dyson's lawsuit in a written ruling on Friday.
But the High Court ruled that MGN had successfully argued its defence of honest opinion and that Dyson had not proved he had suffered "serious harm" as a result of the column.
"The claimant having failed on the issue of 'serious harm' and the defendant having succeeded on its honest opinion defence, this claim must be dismissed," the judge said.
Persons:
James Dyson, Dyson, Robert Jay, Dyson's, Brian Reade, MGN, Sam Tobin, Paul Sandle
Organizations:
Group, Daily, Court, Thomson
Locations:
Britain, Singapore