Barry George, the man acquitted of killing Jill Dando, has been awarded “substantial” damages and an apology from the publisher of the Sun and the News of the World.
George, who has a personality disorder, spent eight years in jail for the shooting of the BBC TV presenter before being acquitted at a retrial last year. He gave an interview because, his lawyer said: “He knew there would be a clamour from the press for his story and he wanted to satisfy the demands of the press . . . and be left in peace.”
However, the articles, which appeared in the Sun and the News of the World between August and November 2008, suggested that he could still be guilty of the murder and that he had been stalking other women.
News Group Newspapers has now admitted that the articles:
. . . would have been understood to mean that there were grounds to suspect Mr George of the murder despite his acquittal. It accepts that the verdict of the second jury in acquitting Mr George was correct and it apologises to Mr George for any suggestion otherwise.
The NotW went so far as to say that George had told the newspaper: “I didn’t kill Jill Dando — I was stalking someone else at the time.” It now accepts that he never made this statement.
In the own words of his own counsel, George was convicted because he was “the local loner, the local nutter”, a stigma that clearly continued to dog him after his conviction. It’s a sad demonstration of the kind of thing that makes the British tabloid press notorious worldwide.
The argument for reform of the UK’s libel laws — and particularly their abuse by big corporations to curtail criticism — is gaining speed. It’s good to see them being put to proper use here to protect an individual’s reputation from unfair attack.
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