28 August 2025
DEFAMATION: Convicted murderer’s libel claim against ITV thrown out
A man who was convicted of murder - after ordering the honour killing of his niece - has failed in his attempt to sue ITV for defamation after it broadcast two programmes about the case.
Ari Mahmod claimed a 2012 documentary and a 2020 drama about Banaz Mahmod’s murder were defamatory of him because they implied he had also been involved in raping her, which he denied.
The High Court has now thrown out the claim after concluding it did not have a realistic prospect of success and the programmes did not mean Mahmod knew about or was responsible for Banaz’s rape.
Banaz Mahmod was a 20 year old Iraqi Kurd living in London who went missing in 2006. She had been strangled and her body was found three months later in a suitcase at a property in Birmingham.
Ari Mahmod was jailed for life in 2007 for murdering Banaz and three other men, who prosecutors claimed had murdered Banaz on her uncle’s orders, were also convicted as part of the case.
As part of his libel claim, Mahmod said the suggestion he had been involved in Banaz’s rape had led to negative consequences for him because murder and rape are viewed differently in Kurdish culture.
He sought £400,000 in damages for the serious harm he said had been caused to “his health, life, freedom, daily life, mental, moral future, progression and constant fear to his life and confidence".
In throwing out the case, the Court concluded that neither the documentary nor the drama conveyed the meaning that Mahmod “knew about, was responsible for, or was involved in the alleged rape".
The Court went on to state that Mahmod "… appears to believe that he can use this defamation claim as a vehicle to challenge the allegation in the documentary and the drama that Banaz Mahmod was raped … That, of course, is wrong."
DEFAMATION: Sky to pay damages to retired Met officer over false misconduct claims
A retired police officer is to receive substantial damages from Sky after he sued the broadcaster for incorrectly reporting that he had used taxpayer funds to facilitate sexual encounters with colleagues.
The settlement relates to an article published online last year which claimed the officer had committed professional misconduct and had been removed from duty while misconduct proceedings took place.
In an apology published on the Sky News website as part of the settlement, Sky said:
“On April 3, 2024, the article headlined ‘Police chief accused of using taxpayer money to book hotels for sex with female colleagues’ was published on the Sky News website and via the mobile app.
“Sky News reported that Simon Crick, a Chief Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police, had committed professional misconduct by using taxpayer money to facilitate sexual encounters with a number of female colleagues and had been removed from active duty while misconduct proceedings were taking place.
“These allegations were untrue. Mr Crick had not used taxpayer money to facilitate sexual encounters with female colleagues nor faced misconduct allegations accusing him of doing so.
“We also acknowledge that the allegation made in the article suggesting Mr Crick authorised expenses for female colleagues without authority is also untrue.
“We also acknowledge Chief Superintendent Crick was not removed from active duty in relation to these matters and neither was he the subject of misconduct proceedings in relation to such allegations.
“We recognise the significant impact, both personally and professionally, that the publication of this inaccurate story had on Mr Crick, and also the significant impact on his children and close family.
“We apologise unreservedly to Mr Crick and his family for this error.”
DEFAMATION: Noel Clarke loses his defamation claim against The Guardian
The actor Noel Clarke has lost his libel case against The Guardian newspaper, after he sued it for reporting various allegations of misconduct that a number of women had made against him.
Clarke’s claim related to seven articles and a podcast from 2021 which alleged that he had used his power in the film and television industry to prey upon and harass women.
In dismissing the case, the Court held that the newspaper had succeeded in defending the articles on the basis that they were substantially true and in the public interest.
During the trial, which took place in the High Court earlier this year, Clarke had argued that the accusation that he was a serial abuser of women was false and he was the victim of a conspiracy.
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 concluded.
"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."
During the trial, more than a dozen women testified that they had experienced misconduct by Clarke.
The judge concluded that women had been speaking about their experiences of working with Clarke “for many years" and the announcement by Bafta 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 Court found the reporters and editors at The Guardian who had worked on the stories believed publication was in the public interest and this belief was reasonable in the circumstances.
The truth and public interest defences to defamation can be difficult to establish but this case shows that they can still provide important protection to publishers and broadcasters in the right case.
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