Mr Justice Tugendhat has been appointed as the new senior libel and privacy judge at the Queen's Bench Division, succeeding Mr Justice Eady.

Eady has completed two terms in office since his appointment in 2004, with Tugendhat appointed for a three-year term as the judge in charge of the jury list, beginning on 1 October.

He will be responsible for managing work on the court's lists concerning defamation, privacy and clinical negligence and assigning judges to each case.

Tugendhat has handled a number of controversial cases to have received widespread media attention, including footballer John Terry's failed attempt to gain a super-injunction against media reports of his extramarital affair.

Terry, who had obtained a gagging order preventing the press from reporting the story, saw the order subsequently lifted by Tugendhat, who stated that it "was not necessary or proportionate"

The decision was viewed as a key development in the ongoing battle over press freedoms in the UK courts.

Other high-profile cases involving Tugendhat include the dispute over the wedding photos of Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas.

The Hollywood couple were represented by Tugendhat in 2003 when they successfully sued Hello! magazine for taking unauthorised pictures of their nuptials after they had signed an exclusive deal with rival magazine OK!.

Tugendhat was called to the Bar in 1972, appointed a recorder in 1994 and a QC in 1986. In 2003 he was appointed a High Court judge in the Queen's Bench Division.