After apologising to Dr Mohammed Asha in early March, the Sun must now cough up 'substantial' libel damages because of its front page splash 'Terror case doc works in casualty'.From MediaGuardian:
Leo Dawkins, the solicitor representing Dr Asha, told Mr Justice Eady in the high court in London today that the allegations were that 'there were very strong grounds to suspect that the claimant would be involved in the future in terrorist bomb plots and was, therefore, an ongoing threat to national security'.
He added: 'There is no truth in these allegations whatsoever. The article complained of was published to millions of people and has been devastating for the claimant, causing him immense damage both personally and professionally.'
News Group Newspapers, which publishes the Sun 'accepted that the allegations complained of were entirely false and without foundation' and:
Patrick Callaghan, solicitor for NGN, told the court: 'The defendant offers its sincerest apologies to Dr Asha for the damage it has caused and is pleased to set the record straight.'
Dr Asha added:
'The damage caused by The Sun has been incalculable, causing both myself and my family immense hurt and distress, not to mention worries over my own personal safety.
'I am glad this terrible ordeal is finally over and that The Sun has apologised and agreed to pay me compensation and my legal costs.'
(Image found at Sun Headlines)
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I do not believe that this is the first (or last) time that the Sun (and other similar quality publications) will make this error. Really, I suspect they know they're publishing material that is far from the truth - its the game they play, and I suspect that they probably budget for the ensuing court cases. Were that to be the case, should the law not take a more severe stance against frequent offenders? Publishing factual inaccuracies, and then paying out libel damages, but still making a profit should not be a sustainable business model (assuming that this is what is going on...)!
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