03/02/2020 Economou v David De Freitas (Rev 1) [2016] EWHC 1853 (QB) (27 July 2016) questioning. The matter was not pursued, but not because the police were convinced the accuser had lied. They were not. The case was complex and difficult. The reasons why the man was not prosecuted appear to have included inconsistencies in the accuser's evidence, her psychiatric illness, her delay in reporting, and a lack of forensic evidence. The man was not exonerated. 62. In their skeleton argument Mr Barca and Mr Helme argued that Mr Economou's case on identification must fail on pleading grounds. They referred to the general rule set out Fullam v Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Ltd [1977] 1 WLR 651, 656 (Lord Denning MR) and Grappelli (above) at 826: that where an innuendo is relied on the claimant must generally specify the persons who are said to know the "special facts" that would lead them to the identification or meaning relied on. In Baturina the court applied that general rule: see [44]-[50]. The rule is reflected in CPR 53 PD 2.3(2), so far as meaning is concerned. It is an important rule: if a claimant sues on words that do not identify him, proof that there were people who knew enough to make the connection is fundamental to his claim. It is fair to say that adherence to this principle is all the more important in today's legal environment, in which claimants have to prove that publication caused serious harm to reputation. Nevertheless, I find myself unpersuaded by this argument on the facts of this case. 63. The extent to which particular individuals who identified the claimant must be specified in the Particulars of Claim depends on the circumstances: Fullam 655 (Lord Denning MR). It may be possible to plead and prove extrinsic circumstances from which it can be inferred that readers would have knowledge of the relevant facts: Fullam 659 (Scarman LJ); Grappelli 830A (Dunn LJ). Here, Mr Economou has pleaded by description categories of people who knew that he had been accused, and that he had brought the private prosecution, and he has led evidence about those matters. The evidence goes into detail and gives names. There is supporting documentary material. The evidence goes beyond what is pleaded, but sufficient notice has been given. It seems to me that I should assess the pleaded case and the evidence. There is no unfairness in doing so. 64. I am persuaded that there were readers of the First Guardian Article who knew enough to identify Mr Economou as the man accused by Ms de Freitas. There were people who read the article with "special knowledge" that would lead a reasonable person to understand it as impliedly referring to, and defaming, Mr Economou. There were people who did in fact understand the words to refer to and defame him. That is not the end of the matter, however. The Identification and Serious Harm issues are interlinked. It is necessary to assess how many such readers there were, and whether Mr Economou's reputation suffered serious harm as a result. That needs some care. One has to consider the probabilities as to who knew that Mr Economou was the man accused, which and how many of these are likely to have read the words complained of, and how those that did are likely to have reacted. 65. In his pleading and in his evidence Mr Economou identifies people who he says knew him to be the target of the rape allegation and/or the person who pursued the private prosecution. Some he identifies by name, others by description. They can for the most part be put into these categories, which are not exhaustive or mutually exclusive: (1) people to whom Ms de Freitas made the allegation; (2) family, friends and acquaintances in whom he confided; (3) people approached for evidence in the private prosecution; (4) police and others professionally involved in the investigation of the rape allegation and/or the investigation and prosecution for PCJ; (5) members of the public present in court during the PCJ hearings; (6) members of charities and lobbying groups; (7) journalists. 66. I am not persuaded that there are large numbers in any of these categories, or that collectively they add up to a large number. The evidence as to how widely Ms de Freitas spread her allegations is hearsay of a rather unsatisfactory kind. Reliance on Ms de Freitas' Facebook status update seems to me misplaced: there is no evidence that she told the person concerned, a complete stranger, that she had been raped or otherwise mistreated by Mr Economou. I have no evidence from Henriette Schroder about what was said at her New Year's Eve party. I only have what Mr Economou says she told him, which is rather general. I am confident that Ms de Freitas made the allegation to some people but do not consider I can find the number was large. Turning to category (2), I accept Mr Economou's evidence that at least 148 family members, friends, or acquaintances, whom he names in his statement, came to know by the end of 2013. I accept that the numbers went beyond this. His mother and father speak of their friends and family and some colleagues at his work knowing the basic facts. However, I do not consider the evidence by which Mr Economou sought to enlarge category (2) is precise enough to rely on. All or www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2016/1853.htm 17/58