Elton John leaves the High Court with a smile and pounds 350,000

Elton John emerges unscathed and smiling from the High Court in London yesterday after winning pounds 350,000 in libel damages from the Sunday Mirror, which falsely claimed he suffered from a bizarre eating disorder. Asked by reporters to comment on the case, the musician said: 'I've got something else to do first,' before going outside to sign autographs. Scuffles broke out as he left the Law Courts and stepped into the glare of the television lights that were awaiting him along with a throng of fans and journalists. Elton John, born Reginald Dwight in Pinner, Middlesex, 46 years ago, addressed his public: 'I'm delighted about this judgment. It's very easy to check things. It's a very privileged and nice thing to be a journalist and journalists should check the facts.' He was then bundled into a Bentley and was gone.

Report, page 3

(Photograph omitted)