The self-proclaimed inventor of the Bitcoin digital currency is the latest person to be summoned to appear in court under the master of the rolls' zero tolerance policy towards the breaching of judgment embargoes. In Dr Craig Wright v Peter McCormack, Mr Justice Chamberlain ordered computer scientist Craig Wright to attend a hearing after finding evidence that Wright 'may have acted in deliberate breach' of an embargo.

In August this year, Wright was awarded damages of £1 when Chamberlain found he had been defamed in tweets by blogger Peter McCormack. The award reflected what the judge described as Wright’s ’deliberately false case’ about the harm caused by the libels. 

In an ancillary matters judgment published today, Chamberlain notes that an embargoed copy of his judgment was sent to counsel on 26 July. That evening, according to the judgment, Wright posted three messages to 340 members of a workspace group on the Slack messaging platform which appeared to refer to the damages awarded. Several days later, but before the judgment was published, Wright's business partner Calvin Ayre posted on Twitter that Wright had won the case. 

The judgment notes a statement by Wright's solicitors, London specialist firm Ontier, that Wright did not believe his posts breached the embargo 'and it was certainly not his intention to do so'. Wright apologised unreservedly for any unintentional breach. 

However, referring to the master of the rolls' warning this year that ‘those who break embargoes can expect to find themselves the subject of contempt proceedings’, the judge said 'it would not be appropriate to take no further action'.

The judge said he would issue a summons requiring Wright to attend a directions hearing before a judge nominated by the judge in charge of the media and communications list, 'who will give directions for the conduct of contempt proceedings in respect of breach of the embargo'.

In other ancillary matters, Chamberlain declined to accept an undertaking offered by McCormack about repeating the defamatory statements or to grant any injunctive relief. He also refused permission to appeal the decision to award only nominal damages and ordered Wright to pay McCormack’s costs in the proceedings. 

 

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