High court in London to hear that 26 will support allegations of serious misconduct against him. Thirty-two people are set to give evidence in support of the Guardian’s defence of legal action brought against it by the actor and producer Noel Clarke. The details are due to be set out on Monday at the high court in London in a pre-trial review hearing ahead of a defamation and data protection trial, which is scheduled to start at the beginning of March.
The judge is scheduled to hear a number of trial management issues, including a request for reporting restrictions. Clarke, best known for his Kidulthood film trilogy, is suing the Guardian for libel over articles published in 2021 and 2022 after an investigation that set out multiple claims of misconduct against him.
The first article reported allegations from 20 women, including complaints of unwanted touching or groping, sexually inappropriate behaviour and comments on set, and taking and sharing sexually explicit pictures and videos without consent. Subsequent articles reported that several more individuals had come forward to make similar allegations.
In written submissions for the hearing on Monday, Gavin Millar KC, representing the Guardian, described the case as “the most substantial piece of libel litigation to come before the court in recent years”. The submission states that the Guardian has served 34 signed witness statements, of whom 32 will give evidence for the Guardian at the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.
