BREXIT backing multimillionaire Arron Banks has lost a libel action against a journalist who accused him of lying about his relationship with the Kremlin
The businessman, who funded Nigel Farage’s Leave.EU campaign group, sued Observer journalist Carole Cadwalladr after she made the claim in a Ted Talk and the other in a tweet.
Taking to Twitter, Mr Banks said he would appeal the court’s decision. “Congratulations to Carole on winning today, it leaves open for the journalist the excuse that she thought what she said was correct even though she had no facts. There are important points of law at stake here & we will likely appeal,” he said.
He later tweeted: “I won the only thing that mattered Brexit.”
The judgement from the High Court in London followed a five-day hearing in January.
Ms Cadwalladr pleaded a public interest defence.
In a 2019 Ted Talk, the journalist said: “And I’m not even going to go into the lies that Arron Banks has told about his covert relationship with the Russian government.”
In the judgment, Mrs Justice Steyn said the Ted talk had caused serious harm to Banks’ reputation but a later tweet had not.
The judge said the public interest defence had been successful because the claim had been made before a report by the National Crime Agency finding no evidence of any criminal offences by Mr Banks, which was then accepted by the Electoral Commission in 29 April 2020.
Mrs Justice Steyn said the April 2020 acceptance had amounted to “a significant change of circumstances” but that Banks had failed to prove he had been caused serious harm following this date, and so that part of his claim was dismissed.
She had noted worldwide viewership of the Ted Talk after 29 April 2020 was “close to a tenth” of the figure from 15 April 2019 when it took place.
If Mr Banks had won the case, the reporter would have been liable for his costs, estimated at between £750,000 and £1m, together with any resultant damages.
Ms Cadwalladr said she was “profoundly grateful and relieved” by the decision.
Thank you to the judge, my stellar legal team and the 29,000 people who contributed to my legal defence fund. I literally couldn’t have done it without you,” she tweeted.
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