Oct 19, 2002/ FWD/ --- Naomi Campbell received a shocking blow Monday when a British court overturned a previous victory against a London tabloid for publishing photos of the model leaving a drug treatment center.

Earlier this year, a High Court judge ordered the Daily Mirror to pay over $5,000 in damages to the 31-year-old model and $310,000 in court costs after he ruled that the newspaper had breached Campbell's right to confidentiality after running a story about an apparent drug addiction. Such personal information was deemed "sensitive personal data" by the judge and did not warrant public interest.

But three judges presiding over the Court of Appeal in London sided with the tabloid, maintaining that the report was justified and in the public interest because the model had gone out of her way to tell the media that she, unlike other models, did not take drugs.

"What [the ruling] establishes is that if you lie to the public through the media, and particularly for commercial advantage, the media will be entitled to correct that false impression," said Marcus Partington, chief lawyer for the Daily Mirror.

Campbell was not in court to hear the ruling, but released a press statement on her Web site.

"I do not think it so terrible or extraordinary to want to keep private the fact that you have problems and are seeking treatment," Campbell said. "You have to first admit to yourself that you have a problem before you can admit to anyone else."

The court reportedly refused Campbell's permission to appeal to the House of Lords, although her lawyers said they would petition for another hearing.