WORLD : $930,000 Libel Suit Settled

LONDON — The satirical magazine Private Eye, threatened with closure by a massive libel suit by the estranged wife of one of Britain’s most notorious mass killers, won a reprieve today when the case was settled.

Private Eye appealed successfully last month against the size of the $930,000 damages awarded by a jury to Sonia Sutcliffe in May. It was the largest libel award ever made in Britain.

Today Private Eye told the Court of Appeal that it had agreed to pay one-tenth of the award and legal costs to Sutcliffe, wife of the murderer nicknamed “The Yorkshire Ripper.”

The magazine, which has made its reputation by lampooning politicians, royalty and public figures for almost 30 years, was ordered by the High Court to pay an additional $155,000 in settlement of a second libel suit brought by Sutcliffe.