McGregor banned from sharing Nikita Hand CCTV footage

Conor McGregor denied raping Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel nearly six years ago

Conor McGregor has been banned from sharing any CCTV footage from the night of Nikita Hand's assault.

The MMA star has also been ordered to hand over any copies of the CCTV material to his solicitor and delete any trace of the footage from his personal devices.

A jury found in a civil case last November that McGregor had sexually assaulted Ms Hand, who had accused him of rape in a Dublin hotel in 2018.

On Thursday, at the High Court, Ms Hand's legal team quoted newspaper articles in which an Italian business associate of McGregor's indicated the "imminent publication" of the footage.

Lawyers for Nikita Hand sought an injunction to stop McGregor disseminating CCTV footage shown in court

Judge Alex Owens said there was "no need for him [McGregor] to hold copies of CCTV or disseminate it for purposes unconnected with the trial".

He added: "McGregor has a considerable following on social media, the internet being what it is, it risks being misused in a serious way."

The judge said McGregor had already "attacked the jury on social media".

"The facts are clear, Nikita Hand sued Conor McGregor, a jury found McGregor raped Nikita Hand. That has been conclusively determined," Judge Owens said.

He ordered McGregor to pay €100,000 (£84,000) in damages and €200,000 (£168,000) in costs to Ms Hand.

Neither Ms Hand or McGregor were present in court for the hearing.

Earlier the judge said that if the CCTV footage of Ms Hand was released, it would be used selectively and disseminated in the "dark hole of the internet".

The footage, which is almost 40 minutes long, was shown in open court and shows Ms Hand and McGregor in a lift before and after the assault.

What the court heard about the Nikita Hand footage

Ms Hand's lawyers told the court that Gabriel Ernesto Rapisarda, an Italian business associate of McGregor, was quoted in newspaper articles on 5 January saying the CCTV's publication would boost sales of an alcohol brand owned by the MMA star and distributed in Italy.

Remy Farrell SC, representing McGregor, said his client has not disseminated the material and had no conversation with Mr Rapisarda to that effect.

Speaking in court, the judge noted posts by the business associate and Dee Devlin, McGregor's partner.

Ms Devlin posted after the verdict that "CCTV does not lie, I look forward to the world seeing…"

The judge also quoted Mr Rapisarda, who "thinks it will be available to him and released in January".

He said it was impossible to read that as "anything other than the footage will be released this month".

"They have a business relationship, discussing stout in Italy, and an explosion of the brand when footage is seen."

The judge said this "clearly points to a severe danger that he will get it [the footage] and discussions have taken place".

He went on to note that McGregor had posted a series of social media messages calling Nikita Hand "a liar", something the judge said was "not on".

"You cannot call a person a liar, that's not on, that's implying someone has perjured themselves in court," he said.

Mr Farrell said there was no basis for believing the CCTV was disseminated post verdict, adding that McGregor was "perfectly entitled" to have the footage in his possession.

"This implication that the party is not entitled to have it in his possession is utter nonsense," he said, adding that there is a plan to appeal the verdict in the assault case.

Mr Farrell said the reportage of the Italian businessman's statements is "hearsay upon hearsay".

"There's no need for an order of any sort," he said.

However, the judge said there was a "substantial risk that this [CCTV dissemination] will happen".

"Let's get real about it," he said.

"The internet is such at the moment that if this gets into the hands of anyone else it will be at the furthest corner of that dark hole and used by everybody.

"They won't have to be told by McGregor what to do with it."

The judge noted that if McGregor wants an appeal, another jury could have already seen the footage and been influenced by it.

Ray Boland SC, representing Ms Hand, told the court that McGregor had scandalised the court with his social media postings.

He said McGregor was seeking to relitigate the case "in the court of public opinion, abusing his considerable social media following".

On his decision, Judge Owens said "there is a real and demonstrable risk that McGregor would show the CCTV to Mr Repisardo".

Mr McGregor was given a week to return material to his solicitor.

He was also given until 12 February to provide an affidavit to the court on steps he has taken to retrieve the material and prevent its dissemination, as well as any other application relating to the CCTV footage and other evidence.

What has happened in the Conor McGregor case?

Ms Hand, who accused Conor McGregor of raping her, took a claim against him and another man, James Lawrence, for damages in a civil case.

In the Irish courts, a civil action means - unlike a criminal case - there is no automatic anonymity for either the complainant or the accused.

McGregor was ordered to pay her more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages after a jury found he had sexually assaulted Ms Hand.

The jury found that Mr Lawrence did not assault her.

Speaking outside the court following the decision, Ms Hand said her story was "a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be to speak up, you have a voice".

McGregor said he would appeal against the verdict and thanked "all my support worldwide".

A judge later ruled that the MMA star must pay Ms Hand's legal costs.