Noel Clarke accuses Guardian publisher of ‘fabricating’ evidence in libel claim
Noel Clarke accuses Guardian publisher of ‘fabricating’ evidence in libel claim
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Actor Noel Clarke has accused the publisher of the Guardian newspaper of “perversion of the course of justice” by “fabrication” and deletion of evidence in his High Court libel claim against the publication. 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 Mr Clarke in a professional capacity had come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.
In a statement at the time, the former Doctor Who star vehemently denied any sexual misconduct or criminal wrongdoing. GNM is defending the legal action on the grounds of truth and public interest. A full trial of the claim is expected to be heard in March, but at a hearing on Wednesday, Mr Clarke’s lawyers applied for GNM’s defence case to be struck out.
In written submissions, Philip Williams, representing Mr Clarke, said: “The claimant submits there is overwhelming evidence not just of an attempt to pervert… but actual perversion of the course of justice.”. He also said: “Because of the deliberate and permanent deletion of personal correspondence between the three journalists that undertook the purported investigations, as well as fabrication, it is the claimant’s contention that it is impossible for the defendant to legitimately put forward a positive case that it reasonably believed publishing the defamatory articles were in the public interest.”.
