Middle East expert issues High Court apology to Belfast-based libel lawyer Paul Tweed over book

Dr Andreas Krieg is also to pay a £150,000 legal bill and seek to have any remaining copies of the publication destroyed as part of a defamation settlement announced today.

In a statement read out at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast he said: “I regret that Mr Tweed was collateral damage in my critical agenda relating to the UAE (United Arab Emirates).”

The high-profile lawyer sued over an alleged reference to him in the publication ‘Subversion: The Strategic Weaponization of Narratives’.

Dr Krieg is an associate professor at the School of Security Studies in King’s College, London and political risk analyst on the Gulf region.

Published in 2023, his book has been described as an examination of how “malicious state and nonstate actors take advantage of the information space to sow political chaos”.

But Mr Tweed, known for successfully representing celebrity clients such as Britney Spears, Liam Neeson, Nicolas Cage and Jennifer Lopez, claimed the academic had damaged his reputation.

The case centred on a passage in the book written for postgraduates and practitioners in the area of information studies.

Mr Tweed had been wrongly depicted as a covert agent of the UAE deployed to intimidate and silence its critics, his legal team argued.

At an earlier hearing a judge ruled that both the book and the contents of a separate tweet the academic posted on social media platform X had defamatory meanings.

In court today the settlement terms were announced, including a statement read by counsel on behalf of Dr Krieg.

He accepted that his book made “a number of false, unfair and defamatory allegations and inferences relating to the work of the international media lawyer, Paul Tweed”.

The statement went on: “I unreservedly retract these totally unfounded allegations and sincerely apologise to Mr Tweed for questioning his impartiality and integrity and for the untrue allegations, which I never should have made or published in the first place.”

The tweet referring to the solicitor’s work has also been deleted, the court heard.

Dr Krieg confirmed he is making a charitable donation to the international freedom of information organisation Reporters Without Borders, at Mr Tweed’s request, as a mark of his regret.

Under the terms of the settlement the defendant will also request that publishers Georgetown University Press withdraw from circulation and securely destroy all remaining physical copies of his book containing the passage.

He has further agreed to pay Mr Tweed’s legal costs of £150,000 plus VAT.

Speaking outside court, the lawyer declared himself satisfied with the “unreserved and categoric apology”.

“Dr Krieg has admitted that I have been collateral damage in his agenda against the UAE and it is most disappointing that my professionalism was ever called into question in such circumstances,” he said.

“I remain of the firm view that Dr Krieg’s close association with the State of Qatar should have been made clear to readers of his book.”

Mr Tweed expressed disappointment at what he described as King’s College London lending “institutional credibility” to the book.

Insisting the case was never financially motivated, he said: “My sole concern had been to vindicate my reputation, not to seek monetary damages.

“In that context no financial compensation has been pursued.”

Mr Tweed added: “No lawyer should come under attack for doing their job as it serves only to undermine the rule of law and integrity of the entire legal system.”