Noel Clarke has been refused permission to challenge a judge’s decision not to throw out The Guardian publisher’s defence in a High Court libel claim brought by the actor. The 49-year-old is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over a series of articles, including one from April 2021 which said 20 women who knew Clarke in a professional capacity had come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.
In a statement made when the articles were published, Clarke “vehemently” denied “any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing”. Last month, lawyers for the former Doctor Who star applied to have GNM’s defence of his claim thrown out, claiming the publisher had deleted some messages and fabricated a thread on Signal – an encrypted messaging app.
But Mrs Justice Steyn rejected these claims and dismissed the application earlier this month, stating the “extremely serious allegation” that evidence had been fabricated had “no foundation”. Clarke had sought to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal and asked for the trial of the claim – set to begin on Monday – to be delayed while the appeal was heard.
But Lord Justice Warby ruled on Thursday that Clarke could not appeal the decision, stating it would have “no real prospect of success” and that there was “no other compelling reason for this court to hear an appeal”. In a short judgment, he also said there was “no basis” to delay the start of the trial.
