• The Independent, Thursday, March 29, 2007 11 AM

Sir Martin Sorrell accepted what he claimed were "record" damages totaling £120,000 ($235,415) in the libel and privacy trial that has captivated the London advertising and marketing community for two weeks. Sorrell had testified that an anonymous blog made him sound like a ruthless criminal with Mafia connections. As part of the settlement, he was forced to concede that his former colleagues--Marco Benatti and Marco Tinelli--were not personally responsible for waging the Internet campaign against him.

Both sides claimed victory after all the acrimonious wrangling and revelations at the High Court. Sorrell insisted that his decision to go to court to challenge "vengeful, spiteful and vindictive" allegations made in a series of emails and blogs had been vindicated. Benatti and Tinelli accused Sorrel of having "fled the battlefield" before they could give evidence in the trial, adding the WPP chief executive now faced legal costs of £2m. Sorrell said that figure was "way off."

The settlement followed the disclosure of new evidence about the possible origin of the postings.

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