London - (Rioters): Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6, the UK's security and intelligence directorate, has sued US rapper Sean P Diddy Combs after a bitter court fight over the use of the Diddy moniker.
Dearlove, famous for giving the nod to the Blair Administration over dodgy dossier WMD fantasies, went to the UK High Court to prove that he had registered his nickname 'Diddy' as far back as 1992.
The legal fight has now stopped Combs from using the term Diddy as part of his professional name after the judge agreed that Dearlove was the sole legal user.
Dearlove is perhaps better known in the music business for his remix of the Blondie hit Atomic, which the CIA has always insisted was a coded reference to the rewriting of official anti-terrorism files that the Agency held on Princess Diana.
Not many top spooks have had hits in the Top 20, never mind name copyright fights with American rap artistes. As the judge put it so succinctly today: "Sir Richard can keep the Diddy name ownership. In return Mr Combs will agree not to pose as the former head of the most powerful disinformation and counter-intelligence agency in the world."
Damages to be announced next week.
