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 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”.
Clarke described the judgement as “disappointing”, adding: “I have never claimed to be perfect. But I am not the person described in these articles.”
The judgement 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.
The judge said Clarke’s conspiracy claim did not have a “proper foundation”, and was “born of necessity, in the face of the large body of witnesses giving evidence against him”.
“There has been no conspiracy to lie,” she continued. “In the absence of a conspiracy, Mr Clarke’s case that more than 20 witnesses – none of whom are parties or have a stake in this case, as he does – have come to court to lie is inherently implausible.”
The judgement said it was “clear that women have been speaking about their experiences of working with Mr Clarke for many years”.
It said that Bafta’s announcement in March 2021 that Clarke would receive an award “triggered those who were concerned about his behaviour to act, out of concern that it would enhance his power within the industry and so enable him to continue misbehaving”.
The judge also found the Guardian’s editor-in-chief Katharine Viner – along with other editors and reporters – believed publication was in the public interest, which was a reasonable belief.
In a statement welcoming the judgement after it was published on Friday, 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,” she said. “The judgement is clear that our investigation was thorough and fair, a template for public interest journalism.”
She added: “Going to court is difficult and stressful, yet more than 20 women agreed to testify in the High Court, refusing to be bullied or intimidated.
“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.”
Responding to the judgement on Friday, Clarke said: “For almost five years, I have fought against a powerful media outlet and its extensive legal teams over inaccurate and damaging reporting.
“These stories started via anonymous emails portraying me as a monster to attract attention and outrage. The goal was to damage my career, and they succeeded.
“I have never claimed to be perfect. But I am not the person described in these articles. Overnight I lost everything, the media outlet didn’t just ruin my life they ripped through my family’s also.”
Clarke thanked “the team who stood beside me throughout”, as well as his family, “who never stopped believing there was something worth fighting for”.
“The decision today does not change the fact that inaccuracies were published,” he said. “While they may have won in court, they have lost the trust that journalism depends on.
“I want to thank the witnesses who confirmed that key elements of the reporting were false.
In her judgement, Mrs Justice Steyn rejected an allegation of groping, and accepted Clarke’s evidence that nude photographs given in evidence were taken with the consent of the woman involved.
The judge also accepted that an improvisation exercise in an acting class led by Clarke in which some actors undressed was not set “for his own sexual gratification”, adding that, although he found actors’ objections to nudity vexing, his aim was to help students become comfortable with appearing partially nude for roles which may require it.
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.