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"World's worst tennis pro" loses Telegraph libel case

Back in the 1980's I represented a show business client who was involved in a series of interlocutory applications in the Chancery Division of the High Court. We were in court against a party who proceeded to commit perjury in fabricating highly defamatory evidence which was then reported in almost all of the UK newspapers, i.e. in every UK national newspaper and most regionals. It took a vast effort on my part and a few more days to prove that what had been reported by newspapers here and across the world was malicious falsehood and 100 per cent libel. At this point the entire series of legal actions brought against my client collapsed when firm proof of perjury was discovered and the Attorney General was asked to investigate what had occurred. This all made front page news at the time and was on the main evening TV news. We then had an open and shut, totally proven case for libel which we could have brought against almost every newspaper in the UK, against the Press Association, the Court reporters et al. We actually only hit those responsible for creating the false evidence, which was read out in open court. At the time, a false transcript of an accurate letter was handed out to court reporters in court and reporters wrongly presumed that the transcript was accurate in that it was a true transcript of a lengthy letter, read out quickly in court by the other sides’ counsel. It wasn’t. The false transcript had been altered/created, with key words changed, to be defamatory. All reporters present had been duped and the ensuing story was so big that it spread worldwide and all of it was defamatory. We knew we could have behaved like this little known tennis player (although my client was a very famous “pop” star). However to do so would not have been “cricket” as the press had also been duped. We have a sense of fair play and behave decently. We could have sued every paper in Britain and many abroad and we would have succeeded in every case. Instead we only went for the most offensive, which was the “Daily Mirror” then owned by Robert Maxwell, who managed to get himself involved. I went on to force the “Daily Mirror” to print an apology. In the present case, this tennis player appears to have done the opposite to what we decided to do...and go for everyone. I think the “Telegraph” and the “Sunday Telegraph” are wonderfully edited, brilliant newspapers and I applaud their success in defending this particular case. Well done.

28-Apr-2010

4:37 pm