Islam versus Europe

The Sultan of Brunei has been linked to claims that the former wife of a head of state is threatening MPs with “diplomatic repercussions” unless they cease publishing information about one of the last remaining super-injunctions.

The details of the injunction are included in written evidence from a businessman which is published on the website of the Joint Committee on Privacy and Injunctions.

In the document, Mark Burby, claims he was gagged by the “ex–spouse of an Asian head of state” in a super–injunction in 2009.

The Jersey-based businessman said he was told that the head of state was a “substantial backer of al-Qaeda” and had advance warnings of the suicide bombings on London in July 2005.

A firm of solicitors acting for the statesman’s former wife has written to every MP and Peer on the 26-strong committee asking them to remove Mr Burby’s submission from its website.

An influential political blogger yesterday hinted that the head of state involved was the Sultan of Brunei.

Paul Staines, who writes under the name Guido Fawkes, published a copy of a message he posted on Twitter on Sunday which read: “Have a feeling the Sultan of Brunei is going to be big news this week. Call it intuition, or what you will...” It was published at the start of an article about the threat to MPs.

The Times has no way of verifying the allegation and under the terms of the injunction could not identify any of the parties even if it could confirm the details.

Mr Burby’s submission to the committee had claimed that the former wife had “boasted to me and others that she owns the courts in England and Wales and the Government”.

He described her as one of the wealthiest women in the world and claimed she had a number of extra-marital relationships, one of which resulted in her having an abortion.

The businessman said the woman obtained a super-injunction in September 2009 against him, his public relations consultant and the business through which he trades.

Archerfield Partners, a firm of London based media lawyers acting for the ex-wife, has asked the Parliamentary committee to remove Mr Burby’s statement “as a matter of extreme urgency”.

It warned that continued publication would have diplomatic consequences.

The letter, which was leaked to The Daily Telegraph , was also sent to Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General; a High Court judge and John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons.

The committee has decided to continue publishing the submission on its website. John Whittingdale MP, the committee’s chairman, said last week that Mr Burby’s evidence was an “interesting and relevant submission” because the committee had been told by judges that super-injunctions were now “time–limited”.