Andrew Tate faces UK civil trial in 2027 over abuse, coercive control allegations

LONDON (Reuters) - Andrew Tate, an internet personality and self-described misogynist, faces a 2027 trial in four women's civil lawsuits for alleged physical and sexual abuse, in a case their lawyers say is the first of its kind in Britain about allegations of coercive control.

The four claimants, who have been granted anonymity, allege Tate subjected them to physical or sexual violence between 2013 and 2015. Two say they were in an intimate relationship with Tate, while two worked for Tate's online webcam business.

The women's lawyers say in court filings that one woman was threatened with a gun as Tate said "you're going to do as I say or there'll be hell to pay", while another alleges Tate strangled her until she was unconscious during sex.

Tate, 38, denies the allegations, with his lawyers saying in his written defence that the claims are false and that all sexual activity was consensual.

The lawsuit had its first preliminary hearing at the High Court on Tuesday ahead of a trial likely to start in early 2027.

Tate's lawyer Vanessa Marshall said Tate, who did not attend Tuesday's brief hearing and was not required to do so, intended to give evidence in his defence at trial.

The claimants' lawyer Anne Studd said that "this will be the first occasion (coercive control) has been brought before the High Court in a civil context", to decide whether it amounts to an intentional infliction of harm under English law.

Studd described coercive control in court filings as "a form of grooming and manipulation where the victim becomes less and less able to respond in what might be perceived as a normal way".

Tate and his brother Tristan are under investigation in a criminal case in Romania over allegations of forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering, which they deny.

The pair flew to the U.S. in February after Romanian prosecutors lifted a travel ban, flying to Romania last month to fulfil legal obligations.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Sharon Singleton)