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Ryan Giggs has admitted glamour model and former Big Brother star Imogen Thomas did not blackmail him over allegations of an extra-marital affair.

The Premier League player is said to have had an affair with Thomas and was granted an injunction earlier this year to prevent the media from naming him.

But High Court judge Mr Justice Eady said there was no longer any point in trying to maintain the footballer's anonymity.

The injunction had until now remained in place despite the Manchester United star having been named on the internet, in foreign newspapers and in the Commons.

But the injunction had not prevented Thomas from being named.

She was accused of blackmail, of setting up the footballer and of trying to sell her story. Until now she had not been able to respond openly to these allegations.

Thomas' lawyers have spent months arguing that her name has been dragged through the mud.

In court, a statement agreed by both sides was read out in which Giggs, who was not present, accepted that the blackmail allegations were baseless.

On the steps of the High Court, Thomas read a brief statement.

She said: "To suddenly have to defend my character because of this legal process has been extremely upsetting and stressful.

"I'm just relieved that the parties and the court now accept that I'm no blackmailer. I have been vindicated, and that's all I wanted."

News of the apparent affair first surfaced in an article in The Sun on February 14.

The article claimed Thomas had been engaged in an affair with a married footballer.

Later that day, Giggs applied for an injunction preventing him from being named.