Shopping cart
Your cart empty!
Noel Clarke ordered to pay at least £3m of Guardian publisher's legal fees
Noel Clarke has been ordered to pay at least £3m of The Guardian publisher's legal costs after losing his "far-fetched" libel case over allegations of sexual misconduct reported by the newspaper.
The first article, published in April 2021, said some 20 women who knew the actor and filmmaker in a professional capacity had come forward with allegations including harassment and sexually inappropriate behaviour. Clarke, best known for his 2006 film Kidulthood and for starring in Doctor Who, sued Guardian News and Media (GNM) over seven articles in total, as well as a podcast, and vehemently denied "any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing".
Following a trial earlier this year, a High Court judge found the newspaper's reporting was substantially true, agreeing with the publisher's defence of its reporting as both true and in the public interest. At a hearing to determine costs on Tuesday, Clarke represented himself - saying in written submissions to the court that his legal team had resigned as he was unable to provide funding for the hearing.
Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that he must pay £3m ahead of a further assessment into the total costs to be recovered, which lawyers for the publisher estimate to be more than £6m. "The claimant maintained a far-fetched and indeed a false case that the articles were not substantially true, by pursuing allegations of dishonesty and bad faith against almost all of the defendant's truth witnesses," the judge said.
The sum of £3m sought by GNM was "appropriate and no more than what ought to be reasonably ordered in this case.
Amir Nisi
Creative and experienced content writer with 6+ years of experience lazy to create unique content strategy for News5 to turn website visitors into customers.
Related to this topic:
AI and Marketing: Unlocking Customer Insights
Feb 22, 2024
