Apology as libel trial of former spy live-streamed across globe

A LIBEL trial involving a former British spy was mistakenly live-streamed to people in the United States, Cyprus and Russia, it has emerged.

Christopher Steele, who set up an intelligence consultancy after leaving MI6, is being sued by a Russian businessman over part of his 2016 dossier which lifted the lid on alleged links between Donald Trump and Moscow.

But part of the trial, which took place at the High Court in London, ended up being broadcast around the world on the Zoom platform.

Senior judges have expressed concern over the matter and the lawyers responsible are to be investigated further over the alleged breach.

The trial, which took place in Court 72 of the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, featured the Russian businessman Aleksej Gubarev, who is suing Mr Steele over elements of his dossier which was published by the Buzzfeed website in January 2017.

Because of social distancing restrictions there was not enough room in the courtroom itself to house the public and press so the judge, Mr Justice Warby, made an order allowing proceedings to be viewed on Zoom in an adjoining court. However he subsequently discovered that a solicitor, at a law firm representing Mr Gubarev, had sent the Zoom link to seven people, who watched part of the trial from various locations around the world.

The judge asked two other judges to examine issues relating to the “professional conduct” of Mcdermott Will and Emery, the law firm representing Mr

Gubarev, who lives in Cyprus. Dame Victoria Sharp and Mrs Justice Andrews, who heard evidence at a High Court hearing in London last week, have raised a number of concerns and said an order made by Mr Justice Warby had been disobeyed.

The two judges said, in a ruling published yesterday, that Mcdermott Will and Emery, which has offices in London and abroad, had referred the “matter” to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Judges said for three days proceedings had been live-streamed outside the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales without Mr Justice Warby’s permission.

“This state of affairs is deeply worrying,” said the two judges. “As Mcdermott Will and Emery has already referred this matter to the SRA, it is unnecessary for us to do so.”

Judges said the lawyer who passed on the Zoom link told of a “memory fade”, had accepted responsibility and made a “full and unreserved apology”.

‘This state of affairs is deeply worrying. As this has been referred to the SRA, it is unnecessary for us to do so’