libel

Twitter troll to pay Stephen Nolan six figure damages…

Brian O'Neill on July 2, 2021, 7:52 am

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A bad week for whoever was behind the Pastor Jimberoo Twitter account as Stephen Nolan just made their bank account over a 100k lighter. From the BBC report: A person who used anonymous Twitter accounts to make defamatory remarks about Stephen Nolan has apologised and agreed to pay a six-figure damages sum. The BBC radio and TV presenter traced the identity of the person who was behind an online campaign against him. In a statement issued by the person’s lawyer, …

High Court awards Elliot £48,750 damages [plus costs] for Flanagan libel

Pete Baker on February 3, 2016, 12:24 pm

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Whilst waiting for the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle to ratify his re-selection as a candidate in Fermanagh/South Tyrone, at the second time of trying, notorious tweeter Phil Flanagan, MLA, has discovered the cost of his “grossly defamatory” libel against former UUP leader, Tom Elliot, then MLA, now MP for FST. As the BBC reports The High Court in Belfast has awarded almost £50k in damages to a former Ulster Unionist leader over a defamatory message posted on Twitter. Mr Justice Stephens …

NI Assembly Insurers Refuse to Cover Sinn Féin’s Phil Flanagan for Compensation and Costs Awarded in Tom Elliot Libel Case

Pete Baker on January 9, 2016, 8:48 pm

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It’s worth noting to begin with that that refusal is in accordance with advice given to Jack Peel, Deputy Head of Finance, NI Assembly in March 2011 by Karen McLaverty, Vice President, Marsh Ltd, who provide the Assembly insurance broking and risk management services. Nineteen months after libelling the former UUP leader, Tom Elliot, then an MLA, now MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone [since May 2015], the recently deselected Sinn Féin MLA, Phil Flanagan, appeared in Belfast High Court yesterday where he recognised the …

Peter Robinson, keeping the press accountable – Caption Competition

Brian Spencer on November 26, 2013, 10:38 am

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Never mind the “unpleasant odour” rising from Northern Ireland’s libel law (and the urge to censor), there’s something a little stinky coming from Peter Robinson’s call for the media to show more support for Stormont. As Orwell said, “journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.” Surely we don’t need more photos of politicians standing around with cheesy grins, Stormont’s main output? I look forward to seeing your captions for the empty speech …

Is Sinn Fein really planning to appeal its libel case or just stalling on the pay out?

Mick Fealty on December 18, 2012, 11:51 am

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One of the privileges of having access to lots of money is that you can safely set aside all legal good sense and go for broke. The problem with the idea that the party might appeal a jury verdict from a jury they insisted on having against the judge’s better counsel is that it will likely have the judge confirm the first outcome. So, are they just stalling? Having strung Mr Gormley along thus far (including putting him in the …

Why did Sinn Fein feel compelled to invent ‘malicious’ untruths about Declan Gormley?

Mick Fealty on December 17, 2012, 11:43 am

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This morning in the High Court, both Sinn Fein’s and Declan Gormley’s counsels will be making their cases on the figure in damages to be reached by the jury in Sinn Fein malicious libel trial. We should have a figure to run with by lunchtime. As Tom Kelly – rather prophetically – warned back in 2007 (long before Mr Gormley had even been appointed been appointed to Northern Ireland Water), Martin McGuinness’s promise to put manners on Civil Servants, was …

Gormley wins libel case against Sinn Fein

Pete Baker on December 14, 2012, 5:31 pm

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The BBC reports the jury verdict in Declan Gormley’s, a former non-executive director of NI Water, libel case against Sinn Féin, the party’s Newry and Armagh MLA Cathal Boylan, and former assembly member Willie Clarke. From the BBC report Declan Gormley sued the party over the contents of two press releases it issued in 2011 in support of his sacking from the NIW Board. The party denied the press releases were defamatory, but the jury found the party had acted with malice. High …

UTV DVD “will not satisfy the request for particulars”…

Mick Fealty on November 23, 2012, 4:27 pm

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Sam McBride has had some interesting reports to file on the Declan Gormley hearing. This from yesterday’s proceedings is more bizarre than the last one. What’s at play here is that Gormley’s lawyers are trying to get Sinn Fein’s lawyer’s to specify what evidence they have that Gormley ‘attacked’ their two MLAs… Well worth reading the whole thing.. As Mr Justice Gillen told Mr McCann to be more specific about the alleged attacks by Mr Gormley to which he was …

Sinn Féin MLAs to claim ‘qualified privilege’ for press statements in NI Water libel case?

Pete Baker on November 16, 2012, 4:53 pm

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The BBC reports from Belfast High Court as, former non-executive director in NI Water, Declan Gormley’s libel proceedings against Sinn Féin, the party’s Newry and Armagh MLA Cathal Boylan, and former assembly member Willie Clarke, heads to its court date – 26 November. Apparently, no political party members nor NI Water employees, members and staff on the Stormont Public Accounts Committee are to be allowed to sit on the jury. And, also from the BBC report At a review hearing on …

Dead tree columnist prejudices public’s perception of bloggers?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on February 8, 2012, 7:09 pm

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Allison Morris made a number of contributions to this morning’s Irish News. As well as the front page article about the alleged security breach when a police officer’s personal mobile fell into the hands of dissident republicans (and its contents were subsequently passed to the Irish News), she also writes a curious opinion piece on page 19. Trapped behind a paywall, it only seems fair that her column gets a wider reading. Rambling online twits prejudice trials at will Kicking …