Women’s Groups Hail Noel Clarke Libel Defeat as Victory for Victims and Press Freedom

The UK High Court has delivered a landmark ruling against actor Noel Clarke, who lost his £70 million libel lawsuit against The Guardian, in what women’s groups and campaigners have hailed as a major victory for survivors of abuse and press freedom. Justice Steyn dismissed Clarke’s claim after finding that the newspaper had successfully proved both the truth of its reporting and its public interest justification. The court described Clarke as “not a credible or reliable witness” and rejected his allegations of a conspiracy against him as “inherently implausible.” Clarke’s case stemmed from a 2021 series of articles and a podcast in which 20 women accused him of sexual harassment, bullying, unwanted touching, and sharing explicit images without consent, with testimony heard in court covering more than 15 years of alleged misconduct. The ruling prompted an outpouring of support from women’s rights advocates, who praised the judgment as a critical affirmation of investigative journalism and the #MeToo movement. Harriet Wistrich of the Centre for Women’s Justice called the outcome a blow to powerful figures who use legal threats to silence survivors, while Karen Ingala Smith noted that Clarke now joins the ranks of men who have failed in attempts to obscure their misconduct through the courts. Barrister Charlotte Proudman emphasized that the decision was a landmark for both survivors and investigative reporting, while Andrea Simon of the End Violence Against Women Coalition stressed that the law must not be weaponized to gaslight survivors and suppress their voices. Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner described the ruling as a deserved victory for women who suffered and a landmark for British investigative journalism, adding that it should encourage others to speak out without fear of legal intimidation. Clarke, visibly shaken by the judgment, insisted he was not the person portrayed in the articles, stating, “I have never claimed to be perfect. But I am not the person described in these articles. Overnight, I lost everything.” The verdict is widely seen as a reaffirmation of the vital role of journalism in holding powerful figures to account, strengthening the voices of survivors, and limiting the use of libel law to intimidate those who speak out against abuse.

Sources: The Guardian, Financial Times, Reuters