ROBBIE WILLIAMS LAWSUIT COST HIM MONEY

Singer Robbie Williams former manager Nigel Martin Smith has been awarded libel damages by Williams record company after the star suggested he had stolen money from the band. Martin Smith won an undisclosed amount from the producers of Williams’ Rudebox album, Chrysalis Records, for the defamatory lyrics at a hearing in London’s High Court on Friday. The record label apologized and claimed it did not intend to accuse Smith of theft. Williams, 33, has already issued a public apology to Smith and paid costs and damages of around $1 million following an earlier court ruling in last December. Advance copies given to media outlets contained the libelous lyrics - but the words were changed before the 2006 LP was released to the public.