obviously so. But criticism of conduct cannot be a pretext for invasion of privacy by disclosure of alleged sexual infidelity which is of no real public interest in a legal sense. It is beside the point that the appellant and his partner are in other contexts subjects of public and media attention - factors without which the issue would hardly arise or come to court. It remains beside the point, however much their private sexual conduct might interest the public and help sell newspapers or copy. The matter is well put by Anthony Lester (Lord Lester of Herne Hill) in a recent book, Five Ideas to fight for (Oneworld, 2016), p 152: “News is a business and not only a profession. Commercial pressures push papers to publish salacious gossip and invasive stories. It is essential to ensure that those pressures do not drive newspapers to violate proper standards of journalism.” 22. That criticism of supposed infidelity cannot be the guise under which the media can disclose kiss and tell stories of no public interest in a legal sense is confirmed by a series of European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) judgments. Thus, in Armonienė v Lithuania [2009] EMLR 7, para 39, the Court emphasised the duty of the press to impart information and ideas on matters of public interest, but noted that “a fundamental distinction needs to be made between reporting facts - even if controversial - capable of contributing to a debate in a democratic society and making tawdry allegations about an individual’s private life”; In Mosley v United Kingdom [2012] EMLR 1, para 114, the Court reiterated that “there is a distinction to be drawn between reporting facts even if controversial - capable of contributing to a debate of general public interest in a democratic society, and making tawdry allegations about an individual’s private life (see Armonienė, para 39). In respect of the former, the pre-eminent role of the press in a democracy and its duty to act as a ‘public watchdog’ are important considerations in favour of a narrow construction of any limitations on freedom of expression. However, different considerations apply to press reports concentrating on sensational and, at times, lurid news, intended to titillate and entertain, which are aimed at satisfying the curiosity of a particular readership regarding aspects of a person’s strictly private life (Von Hannover v Germany (2005) 40 EHRR 1, para 65; Hachette Filipacchi Associés (ICI PARIS) v France, no 12268/03, para 40; and MGN Ltd v United Kingdom (2001) 53 EHRR 5, para 143). Such reporting does not attract the robust protection of article 10 afforded to the Page 14