Melania Trump wins payout and apology from UK's Daily Mail

[LONDON] First Lady Melania Trump won an undisclosed payout and apology from a British tabloid that made allegations about her modelling career that struck at the "heart" of her "personal integrity and dignity", her lawyer said.

The August 2016 article entitled "Racy photos and troubling questions about his wife's past that could derail Trump" contained untrue allegations "which questioned the nature of her work as a model, and republished allegations that she provided services beyond simply modelling", John Kelly said reading a statement in a London court Wednesday.

"The allegations "strike at the heart of the claimant's personal integrity and dignity," he said.

President Donald Trump's spouse filed a suit against the British newspaper in the US for US$150 million alleging the article caused "tremendous harm" to her reputation and making it almost impossible to take advantage of "major business opportunities" available "for a multi-year term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world".

"The defendant acknowledges that these claims about the claimant are untrue, and we retract and withdraw them," Catrin Evans, a lawyer for Associated Newspapers, said in court. Associated Newspapers is owned by Daily Mail & General Trust Plc.

The tabloid published an apology on its website after the court hearing, saying "We apologise to Mrs Trump for any distress that our publication caused her".

BLOOMBERG