British retail magnate Philip Green has lost a legal battle against the UK at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which centered on the use of parliamentary privilege.

In 2018, Green was publicly named in the UK Parliament as the businessman who had obtained an injunction to block the Telegraph newspaper from publishing allegations of sexual harassment against him. Labour peer Peter Hain used parliamentary privilege—a legal protection allowing lawmakers to speak freely without the risk of legal consequences—to identify Green.

Green argued that the absence of legal restrictions on such use of privilege violated his right to privacy. However, the ECHR ruled on Tuesday that his rights had not been breached.

Once a major figure in British retail, Green's reputation has been significantly affected by the allegations and the legal proceedings surrounding them. Photo by Financial Times, Wikimedia commons.