Noel Clarke must pay at least £3million of The Guardian publisher's legal costs after pursuing a 'far-fetched' and 'false case' against the newspaper's reporting of allegations of sexual misconduct, a High Court judge has ruled.
The shamed star sued Guardian News and Media (GNM) over seven articles and a podcast, including one in April 2021 that said 20 women who knew him professionally had come forward with allegations of misconduct.
Clarke, 49, denied the claims, and his lawyers previously said the newspaper had acted as the 'judge, jury and executioner' of his career.
GNM defended its reporting as being both true and in the public interest and in a judgment last month, judge Mrs Justice Steyn agreed.
At a High Court hearing yesterday, she said Clarke must pay £3million ahead of a detailed assessment into the total costs to be recovered, estimated to be above £6million.
