The case of four women taking High Court legal action against social media influencer Andrew Tate is “the only forum” in which he is going to be “held to account”, one of their lawyers has said.
The women are suing Tate over allegations of sexual violence including rape and sexual assault, which he denies.
At a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, the High Court was told that the case is believed to be the first where allegations of coercive control will be considered in a civil context of whether this can amount to intentional harm, and that a trial could be held over three weeks in January 2027.
Following the hearing in London, Matthew Jury, managing partner of law firm McCue Jury & Partners, which represents the women, said that the trial date was “not as soon as we would like” but that “nothing is going to prevent that from happening”.
He said: “The consequence of that is, right now, these are the only live proceedings in which Andrew Tate will be facing justice.
“The Romanian prosecution appears to have fallen apart, the UK Government is doing nothing to seek his extradition from overseas.
“This is the only forum in which Andrew Tate is going to be held to account for those allegations that have been made against him.”
The four women are bringing a civil case against Tate at the High Court after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute in 2019.
Three of the British accusers were the subject of an investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary, which was closed in 2019.
One woman claims the former professional kickboxer grabbed her by the throat on a number of occasions in 2015, assaulted her with a belt and pointed a gun at her face.
The court heard on Tuesday that there was a “total denial of any wrongdoing” by Tate.
Tate and his brother Tristan Tate are also facing prosecution in Romania over allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
A separate case against them, in which they are accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, has been sent back to prosecutors.
The pair are due to be extradited to the UK following the conclusion of proceedings in Romania, after Bedfordshire Police secured a European arrest warrant for further separate allegations of rape and human trafficking involving different women.
Those allegations, which the brothers “unequivocally deny”, date back to 2012-2015.
At Tuesday’s hearing, which dealt with matters including legal costs and expert evidence, Judge Richard Armstrong allowed the women to rely on evidence from one expert but refused to allow them to rely on another.
Barrister Anne Studd KC, for the women, had said that expert evidence on coercive control was needed as “this is not going to be evidence which is in the knowledge of the court”.
Vanessa Marshall KC, for Tate, said that the additional expert evidence was “unnecessary”.
Judge Armstrong also said that the four women are “seeking damages likely to reach six figures”, with a further hearing in the case expected at a later date.
Following the hearing, Mr Jury told reporters outside the Royal Courts of Justice that expert evidence on coercive control was “significant and important in this case” and that they were “considering” making an application to the court for it to be included.
He said: “I think it is incredibly important that there is an expert to give evidence to the court on that issue in order to ensure that there is a proper and fair hearing.”
He continued: “All we ask is for a fair trial, and for our victims to have their day in court.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Tate previously said he “denies ever threatening anyone with a firearm, engaging in non-consensual acts or subjecting any individual to physical or psychological harm”.
The statement added that Tate will “defend himself vigorously and remains confident the truth will prevail”.
