Kidman wins libel action against 'Sun'

The Australian actress Nicole Kidman won a five-figure pay-out from The Sun yesterday after an article in the newspaper wrongly alleged she had been having an adulterous affair with the actor Jude Law.

In a settlement at the High Court in London, Kidman's lawyer, Keith Schilling, said the story in March "meant that the claimant had had an adulterous affair with Jude Law, who was at the time married with young children. The article implied that the claimant had led Jude Law to cheat on his wife Sadie Frost and by her behaviour caused the breakdown of their marriage."

The defendants, News Group Newspapers, publishers of The Sun, its editor Rebekah Wade and journalist Victoria Newton now accepted that the allegations complained of were untrue. Mr Schilling added: "The publication of the article caused damage to the claimant's personal and professional reputation and she has suffered considerable embarrassment and distress."

The Sun has agreed to publish an apology and pay Kidman, an Oscar winner who was recently divorced from Tom Cruise, damages and her legal costs.

In July Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, paid Kidman, 37, undisclosed damages and an apology for a similar article.