Seeking redress for defamatory statements can often be complex, but it is certainly not...
Seeking redress for defamatory statements can often be complex, but it is certainly not impossible. Recently, a woman succeeded in obtaining damages from a journalist who had misrepresented what she had said in an interview with him, as well as from an international newspaper which published an article about her.
The woman had been attending a demonstration when the journalist interviewed her about Brexit and Sadiq Khan. However, he then published an article and a tweet suggesting that she held Islamophobic views and had made offensive comments about Mr Khan's religion. The tweet and a selective quotation from her interview were shared widely online, leading to a number of false allegations against her and causing her severe reputational damage.
She sought legal advice. While her case was ongoing, a defamatory article about her appeared in an overseas newspaper.
The newspaper was contacted, and agreed to anonymise all references to the woman. The journalist deleted all references to her from his account. Both the journalist and the newspaper agreed to pay damages to the woman, and gave assurances that the defamatory statements would not be repeated.