Horner threatens to sue website over claims

Magazine reveals name of female worker it says received lewd messages from Red Bull boss ‘He has reputedly been sued for libel more times than any other British journalist’

‘The piece is littered with inaccuracies and is subject to legal complaint’

CHRISTIAN HORNER is threatening legal action against a Formula 1 magazine that named the female employee with whom he allegedly shared lewd messages.

The magazine’s website crashed yesterday under the weight of internet traffic following publication of a lengthy article on the case. It prompted Horner’s lawyers at Harbottle & Lewis to fire off two legal letters accusing the magazine of publishing an “unlawful” article that was defamatory but also preached privacy and data protection rights.

Horner’s lawyers demanded the article’s removal, which it said had caused serious harm to Horner, the chief executive of Red Bull.

Horner, 50, was cleared last Wednesday of “controlling behaviour” following an investigation by an independent barrister on behalf of Red Bull’s parent company.

But a day later, flirty and occasionally lewd Whatsapp messages, apparently between Horner and a female employee at Red Bull, were sent via an anonymous email account to journalists as well as team principles and senior officials in Formula One.

The magazine, which is only available online, identified the woman at the centre of the controversy as well as making a number of claims relating to events at Red Bull.

Horner, who is married to Geri Halliwell-horner, 51, a former member of the Spice Girls, denies any wrongdoing and was photographed with her at the Grand Prix in Bahrain on Saturday in a public show of support from his wife.

The magazine article began to circulate on Sunday in preview form. The article was then published online at midnight, but by lunchtime yesterday it had become inaccessible owing to the volume of traffic.

The magazine, which is published monthly, is normally viewed by just 50 people a day who normally pay a subscription for it, its editor said.

By yesterday afternoon, the magazine was back online. It charges a subscription of $260 (£205) a year. The legal letters were sent by Harbottle & Lewis to Tom Rubython, the magazine’s 68-year-old editor and author of the article. Mr Rubython’s Wikipedia page says “he has enjoyed a controversial journalistic career and has reputedly been sued for libel more times than any other British journalist”.

A Red Bull spokesman said: “The piece is littered with inaccuracies and is subject to legal complaint.”

Mr Rubython confirmed that he had received legal warnings from lawyers representing Horner. However, he insisted Horner and Red Bull would have to seek a court injunction before he would agree to take the article down.

“We’ve actually said to them, we’re not taking the article down from our website... if they want that to happen, they have got to seek an injunction,” he said.

When asked about the extent of contact he had with Red Bull and Horner in advance of publication, Mr Rubython said: “We talked to Red Bull, we didn’t talk to Christian. We didn’t talk to Christian because we knew we would immediately get ... the worst thing anybody can have pre publication is an injunction. We knew what would happen immediately. I spoke to him yesterday and immediately I got the, ‘you must speak to my lawyer’.”

The editor added that the website had crashed yesterday due to intense interest worldwide in his story.

“The website is overwhelmed with thousands of people trying to access the report ... It is designed for 50 or so users a day,” he said.