Associated Newspapers settles legal suit

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on March 3, 2010 at 2:56 PM

Associated Newspapers, the UK newspaper division which houses the Daily Mail, today agreed to pay £25,000 in damages to Sir Michael Parkinson, Media Guardian reported. The Daily Mail published an article in May last year titled "Who's Telling Parkies," which alleged the British talk show host lied about his upbringing and that he was "grossly insensitive" to his elderly uncle.

The newspapers accepted that the allegations made in the article were "entirely false" and will pay damages as well as legal costs, Reuters reported.

In a statement, Parkinson said that because he is a journalist, he was reluctant to take legal action, but decided "the Daily Mail had crossed a line by a long way, especially as they knew my views on my father and my family." He also said it should not have taken the Daily Mail nine months to apologise.

"... I believe that the persistent delaying tactics of the Daily Mail were both unattractive and unworthy of a national newspaper. At a time when the media is seeking greater freedom, I think it is counterproductive for a newspaper to behave in this way," he said, according to Media Guardian.

Parkinson said he will donate the damages to two charities.

Late last year, English lawmakers announced they would consider rewriting libel laws. English law is notorious for making it easy for complainants to sue for libel and win, as the burden of proof rests on the defendant - the reverse of many other legal systems, including the United States.