My partner is threatening to go to the press and destroy my reputation. What can I do?

If your partner is threatening to destroy your reputation by going to the press then it is very important that you seek legal advice immediately.

The speed at which you act and instruct your solicitors is essential in a case like this.

Not acting immediately could mean the difference between stopping your partner going to the press and your face being all over the morning papers.

You are able, in certain circumstances, to restrict your partner’s freedom of expression. One of the grounds for restricting freedom of expression is the protection of your reputation. You can do this under the Convention of Human Rights.

You can also protect your reputation from defamation through slander and libel. If your partner was to publish words or matter that contained something that was untrue against your reputation then this would be defamation. For example, this could be the case if your partner was about to publish something untrue about you, that could damage your reputation, in a magazine or newspaper.

It is worth repeating that in this situation it is very important to get independent legal advice as quickly as possible. If you and your solicitor work with enough speed then you may be able to get a prohibitive injunction (to stop them publishing the material about you), sometimes without giving notice to your partner that this is happening.