EPA
A civil case brought by four women against Andrew Tate is believed to be a legal first, a barrister for his accusers has said.
The women accuse Tate of rape, assault and coercive control between 2013 and 2015. One claims he threatened to kill her, another says he made clear he would kill anyone who spoke to her, and a third claims he convinced her he had killed others.
In written submissions, Anne Studd KC said she believed this was the first case of its kind in which it is argued that coercive control amounted to “intentional infliction of harm” – a legal concept similar to emotional distress.
Tate denies the claims, saying they are a “pack of lies” and “gross fabrications”.
The women are seeking damages “arising from the assaults, batteries, and infliction of intentional harm”, their civil claim states.
A case management hearing was held in London on Tuesday, which deals with preliminary matters and logistics.
The court heard that a trial could be held in early 2027, and that it could last three weeks.
Judge Richard Armstrong told the court the four women were “seeking damages likely to reach six figures”.
Proving the intentional infliction of harm would mean the claimants could be awarded additional damages.
Coercive control, Ms Studd said, was “a form of grooming and manipulation where the victim becomes less and less able to respond in what might be perceived as a normal way”.
She added that a victim “may not leave even if the door is open”.
Vanessa Marshall KC, acting for Tate, told the court that they “accept in this day and age that coercive and controlling behaviour does exist”, but that it was “really not the issue in this case”.
The case concerns incidents the four women allege took place in Luton and Hitchin.
Two of the claimants worked for Tate’s webcam business in 2015, while the other two were in relationships with him in 2013 and 2014.
Three of the women previously reported Tate to the police, but in 2019 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to bring criminal charges.
Tate denies all the allegations, and argues that the women cannot now take legal action against him because too much time has passed, and emails, texts, and other potential evidence would have been lost.
His solicitor Andrew Ford previously said in a statement that the women’s allegations “are vehemently denied and will be fully contested in court”.
“When the matter was referred to the CPS, they concluded there was insufficient prospect of conviction and chose not to charge Mr Tate with any offence,” Mr Ford added.
