Michael Barrymore loses latest legal battle with police over wrongful arrest

Michael Barrymore is not entitled to substantial damages over claims he was the victim of a wrongful arrest during the investigation into the death of a man in his swimming pool in 2001, the High Court has ruled.

The entertainer had sued Essex Police for £2.4 million after claiming his arrest in connection with the death of Stuart Lubbock destroyed his career.

But the Court of Appeal ruled that the 66-year-old, who brought the claim under his real name, Michael Ciaran Parker, is only entitled to "nominal damages".

No decision has yet been made on the sum he will eventually receive as the litigation has so far centred on the preliminary issue of whether it should be nominal or substantial.

Mr Barrymore brought the action against Essex Police after he was arrested and detained in June 2007 on suspicion of the rape and murder of 31-year-old Mr Lubbock, who was found in the swimming pool at his home in Roydon, Essex, six years earlier.

Following the ruling, Essex Police made a fresh appeal for witnesses to Mr Lubbock's death to come forward saying "time can change old loyalties".

In a statement the force said: ""The suspicious circumstances in which Stuart Lubbock's body was found in Mr Parker's swimming pool in 2001 remain unexplained and our thoughts today are with Mr Lubbock's family who have been through so much.

"The investigation into Stuart's death has not closed."

Barrymore, who brought his legal action against the police for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment estimated his lost earnings amounted to £2.4 million.

But the force argued that if Mr Barrymore was entitled to substantial damages it would have wide-reaching implications for the police service and other organisations facing similar claims, particularly from wealthy or famous individuals.