“A deserved victory for those women who suffered”: The Guardian responds to winning libel case against actor Noel Clarke over s*xual misconduct

Actor Noel Clarke has lost his libel lawsuit against The Guardian. The High Court ruled in favor of the newspaper over a series of s*xual misconduct reports.

Clarke, who has been in Doctor Who and Kidulthood, had taken legal action against Guardian News and Media following their 2021 investigation that accused him of abusing his influence in the entertainment industry to exploit and harass women. On Friday, the judge threw out Clarke's request, saying the publication had lawfully reported the allegations by being true and caring for the public interest. 

Court backs Guardian reporting, finds Clarke an unreliable witness

A High Court ruling has upheld The Guardian's news reporting on allegations against Clarke, declaring the articles "substantially true." The verdict was hailed by the newspaper's editor as a landmark moment for investigative journalism and a much-needed nod to the women in the story. In the editor's words:

"...a deserved victory for those women who suffered... a landmark for investigative journalism."

Clarke, though, showed his unhappiness with how things turned out, insisting he had been misrepresented. Mrs Justice Steyn, in her decision, pointed out that while some of what Clarke said was taken as true, she ultimately found him to be an unreliable witness. In her words:

"I have accepted some of Mr Clarke's evidence... but overall I find that he was not a credible or reliable witness."

Judge rejects conspiracy claim in Noel Clarke defamation trial

The judge dismissed Clarke's claims of being targeted by a conspiracy. The high-profile trial, which went on for six weeks, was about a set of news pieces and a podcast alleging that Clarke had committed wrong acts, with more than a dozen women testifying against him. 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..."

While Clarke denied all those words against him and said the news was not true and damaging to him, the court concluded the evidence showed women had raised concerns about his behavior for years and tossed out his plot claim as "implausible."

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