Judge: Winslet’s husband not a public figure

LONDON (AP) - A British judge says he blocked publication of party photos of Kate Winslet’s husband because he is not a public figure.

Last week, High Court Judge Michael Briggs granted an injunction preventing Britain’s The Sun newspaper from running photos of Ned Rocknroll taken at a costume party in 2010.

Lawyers for The Sun say the photos show him partly naked.

The judge outlined the reasons for his ruling on Thursday. He said Rocknroll, who legally changed his name from Edward Abel Smith, has “briefly become something of public figure” as a result of his relationship Winslet, an Academy Award-winning actress.

But Briggs says that when the photos were taken, Rocknoll was “a not-very-conspicuous middle manager” in the business empire of his uncle, Virgin tycoon Richard Branson.