Kidman told the court she employed full-time staff to protect her

The New South Wales state Supreme Court ruled it was not defamatory when The Sun-Herald said Jamie Fawcett wanted "to wreak havoc" on her private life.

The star told the court in November she was "really scared" when Mr Fawcett chased her car across Sydney in 2005.

The judge ordered him to pay the Sydney publication's legal costs.

These were not immediately revealed, but is thought they are likely to run to many tens of thousands of Australian dollars.

'Substantially true'

Last year a jury found that elements of The Sun-Herald's story defamed Mr Fawcett, but the newspaper's publisher, Fairfax, sought a further hearing to try to prove that the published claims were accurate.

Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Simpson has now decided the remarks were "substantially true".

The evidence amply demonstrates that Mr Fawcett's conduct was 'intrusive' and 'threatening' Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Simpson

She cited Mr Fawcett's belief that celebrities in general, and Kidman in particular, "had no right to any expectation of privacy while in Australia".

She also ruled that Mr Fawcett should not be paid any damages.

"That Ms Kidman was frightened by Mr Fawcett's conduct cannot be doubted," the judge said.

"He is a man who makes his living from taking and selling candid photographs... of famous people; he had made a goal of obtaining photographs of Ms Kidman; he had waited all day, unrewarded, for a photograph of her.

"The evidence amply demonstrates that Mr Fawcett's conduct was 'intrusive' and 'threatening'," she added.

Mr Fawcett said he was likely to appeal against the judge's ruling.