Noel Clarke verdict: Doctor Who star loses libel case against the Guardian

Noel Clarke has lost his libel case against The Guardian, over a series of news articles which featured claims from a number of women.

The Doctor Who and Kidulthood actor took legal action against publishing group Guardian News and Media (GNM) over allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.

GNM published seven articles and a podcast, including an article in April 2021, which said 20 women who knew the actor in a professional capacity had come forward with allegations of misconduct against him.

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In a statement at the time, Mr Clarke said he “vehemently” denied “any sexual misconduct or criminal wrongdoing”, but added that he was “deeply sorry” if some of his actions had affected people “in ways I did not intend or realise”, and vowed to get professional help “to educate myself and change for the better”.

Dismissing Clarke’s claim in a judgment on Friday, Mrs Justice Steyn said the newspaper had “succeeded in establishing both truth and public interest defences to the libel claim”.

She added: “I have accepted some of Mr Clarke’s evidence… but overall I find that he was not a credible or reliable witness.”

Mrs Justice Steyn added that there was “no conspiracy to lie” by witnesses who gave evidence against him at trial.

“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.”

She continued that it was “clear that women have been speaking about their experiences of working with Mr Clarke for many years”.

She said that Bafta’s announcement in March 2021 that Clarke would receive an award for outstanding contribution to cinema “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”.

She continued: “There has been much reference to an ‘anonymous email campaign’ making false allegations against Mr Clarke.

“If there was such a ‘campaign’, and it seems Bafta may have received some vitriolic anonymous emails, it was not something to which any of the witnesses were party.

“One or two of them wrote anonymously to Bafta, but the matters they raised were true.”

In March 2022, the Metropolitan Police confirmed they would not launch a criminal investigation into the claims against Clarke. However, Clarke launched a libel case accusing The Guardian of defamation and data protection breaches.

Opening Mr Clarke’s case at trial on March 7, barrister Philip Williams, for the actor, said The Guardian acted as the “judge, jury and executioner” of Mr Clarke’s career. He also said that The Guardian’s stories “had more holes than a colander” and that Mr Clarke “is absolutely not, and never has been, a sexual predator”.

The court in London also heard allegations that 14 of the alleged complainants were involved in a conspiracy and that the journalists involved in the articles were aware. GNM defended its reporting as both true and in the public interest.

Gavin Millar KC, for the publisher, told the court in written submissions that The Guardian “did not simply accept what was said to it” and that “much time and resource was devoted to getting to the truth”.

He also said that there is “ample evidence” that all of the articles were true or substantially true.

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Mr Clarke was the first witness to give evidence in the trial and was cross-examined by lawyers for GNM over several days. He told the court that GNM had “smashed my life” and that he was “not what they have branded me”, accusing some of the women of lying and labelling one a “fantasist”.

Mr Clarke’s wife, Iris Clarke, also gave evidence in support of her husband, as did actress Louise Dylan, who said a claim that Mr Clarke had groped her “was not true”.

The Guardian provided evidence from 16 women who claimed to have experienced Mr Clarke’s alleged misconduct, including Gina Powell, who worked at his production company Unstoppable between 2014 and 2017, and actress Jing Lusi, who starred in ITV thriller Red Eye.

Others were given pseudonyms to protect their identities, including one named Ivy, who said she felt “horrified” when she discovered that Mr Clarke had shared private images of her with others. GNM also called journalists to give evidence, including the editor-in-chief of The Guardian, Katharine Viner, who said there was a “very clear public interest” in publishing the allegations.

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Clarke made his first TV appearance more than 20 years ago in the Channel 4 series Metrosexuality, and gained fame for his roles as Mickey Smith in Doctor Who and Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He later wrote and starred in the acclaimed film trilogy Kidulthood, Adulthood and Brotherhood, and directed two of them.

He won the Bafta rising star award in 2009 and was awarded the outstanding British contribution to cinema prize in April 2021. The second award and Mr Clarke’s membership of the academy were suspended after the allegations against him were published by The Guardian.