EPA-EFE/Rex/ShutterstockActor Noel Clarke has lost his libel case against the Guardian, after he sued the newspaper’s publisher for printing allegations of sexual misconduct.
The Doctor Who and Kidulthood star took Guardian News and Media (GNM) to court after the paper ran a series of stories in 2021 claiming he had used his power in the film and TV industry to prey upon and harass women.
On Friday, the judge dismissed Clarke’s libel claim and said the Guardian had succeeded in defending its stories on the grounds of truth and publication in the public interest.
The Guardian’s editor welcomed the decision, describing it as “a deserved victory for those women who suffered” and a landmark for investigative journalism.
The judgment found the meaning of each of the newspaper’s articles was substantially true”.
Mrs Justice Steyn added: “I have accepted some of Mr Clarke’s evidence… but overall I find that he was not a credible or reliable witness.”
During a High Court defamation trial earlier this year, Clarke’s legal team said accusations that he was a “serial abuser of women” were false, and argued he was the victim of an “unlawful conspiracy”.
The Guardian defended what it said was a “careful and thorough investigation conducted conscientiously” by its journalists.
During the six-week trial, which saw Clarke sue the publisher over seven articles and a podcast, more than a dozen women testified that they had personally experienced misconduct by the actor and director.
Clarke, 49, gave evidence over more than three days, and denied that he behaved sexually inappropriately with the women.
In a statement on Friday, the Guardian’s editor-in-chief, Katherine Viner, said it was “important to fight this case”.
“This was a deeply-researched investigation by some of the Guardian’s best reporters, who worked diligently and responsibly. The judgment is clear that our investigation was thorough and fair, a template for public interest journalism.”
She added: “I hope today will give encouragement to other women in similar situations who have been too fearful to raise their voices for fear of the consequences.”
Clarke became famous for playing Mickey Smith during the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant eras of Doctor Who between 2005 and 2010. He also acted in blockbuster films such as Star Trek Into Darkness.
As an actor, writer and director, he became a powerful figure in the British film industry for making movies including the ‘hood series – Kidulthood, Adulthood and Brotherhood.
In 2009, he won the Rising Star prize at the Bafta Film Awards, and in 2021 was given Bafta’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema honour. That award and his Bafta membership were suspended when the Guardian’s allegations were published.
