Madonna: Accepts damages for wedding snaps

Madonna: Accepts damages for wedding snaps

Madonna has accepted undisclosed damages from the Mail on Sunday after it breached her privacy and copyright by printing photos of her wedding to Guy Ritchie.

The singer, who had been seeking more than £5m in damages in her action against Associated Newspapers, was not at London's High Court for the settlement.

The 51-year-old singer's solicitor, John Kelly, told Mr Justice Peter Smith that she would be donating the damages to her Raising Malawi charity.

According to Mr Kelly, the star who has just completed her year-long world tour, went to great pains to ensure that the wedding which took place at Skibo Castle in Scotland on 22 December 2000, was wholly private.

But, in 2003, an interior designer surreptitiously copied at least twenty seven photos from the wedding album, while working on her Beverly Hills home. He provided them to Bonnie Robinson who, in June 2008, offered to sell them to the Mail.

Mr Kelly said that the newspaper did not purchase them at that time but waited until October 2008. The pictures were published on 19 October, 2008, when Madonna had announced that she and film director Guy Ritchie were divorcing and there was huge media interest about her marriage.

Immediately within three days of the announcement of her divorce, the newspaper published ten of the photos - without the consent of the singer.

Mr Kelly said the paper had destroyed all its copies of the photographs and had agreed to pay Madonna damages and legal costs.

But, "It was far more important to the claimant that the privacy of the occasion was maintained," he added.

Solicitor Niri Shan, who is acting for Associated Newspapers, said that it accepted the wrong doing and offered it's sincere apologies to Madonna and her family for invading her privacy and infringing her copyright.

Madonna and Ritchie were granted a divorce at the High Court on 21 November last year.