An editor who feared he would lose his house after a council pursued him for an estimated £20,000-plus legal bill has shared his relief after the authority backed down.

Inside Croydon’s Steven Downes had launched an appeal to readers help to cover potential costs as he prepared to face Croydon London Borough Council in the High Court for a second time this month.

A fortnight ago, the council sought an injunction at the Royal Courts of Justice after Inside Croydon published a story on its website about an investigation, details of which had appeared publicly on the council’s website, into the authority’s financial collapse in 2020.

At a preliminary hearing, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled in Inside Croydon’s favour and likened the council’s application for a gagging order to “trying to put the genie back in the bottle”, although Steven did give an undertaking to the court not to publish anything further from the documents.

The case was due to go before the High Court again on Monday 28 November, prompting Steven to launch a fundraising appeal on his site and issue a warning that the result of the hearing would set “an important precedent for freedom of speech for other publishers”.

However, he has now confirmed the council has withdrawn its threat after the two parties agreed he would permanently uphold the undertaking he made in court.

Excess money raised from the appeal, which stood at £2,340 on Friday, will now be donated to two homelessness charities in the Croydon area for Christmas.

Steven, pictured, told HTFP: “I was very happy to give an undertaking, and to make that undertaking permanent, that I wouldn’t use anything else from the documents from the council’s website. I never had any intention of publishing anything further.”

Discussing his readers’ donations to the appeal, he added: “There was an incredible generosity of spirit. I will divide that between two homelessness charities in the Croydon area – Nightwatch and the South Norwood Community Kitchen.”

Speaking to HTFP before the agreement was made on Friday, Steven had shared dears for his future over the issue, saying: “I could lose my house, that’s what’s at stake.”

At last week’s hearing, Mr Justice Nicklin also refused the council’s application for third-party injunctions – meaning that others who have the documents may publish them – and made no order that Inside Croydon would have to remove the stories it had already published.

These elements of the ruling have also been retained as part of the agreement.

HTFP has approached Croydon Council for a comment on its agreement with Steven.

After last week’s hearing, a spokesperson for the authority said: “Two confidential reports were automatically published online following an unknown software error – both reports were removed within two hours of being notified of their release.

“Given the reports contained confidential legal advice relating to ongoing matters, the council took legal action to protect the confidentiality of this advice.

“We have taken the necessary steps to avoid any recurrence and have also notified the software provider who are addressing the issue.”