Landmark libel win: News Letter article was slammed as ‘inaccurate and irresponsible’... but was true

A landmark legal case against the News Letter began on July 15, 2019, with an article headlined ‘McKee book to fund ex-bomber’s group’, written by this reporter.
By Adam Kula
Published 19th Mar 2022, 11:22 BST
Updated 19th Mar 2022, 11:42 BST
The late Jackie Nicholl with a picture of his 17-month-old son Colin, who was killed by an IRA blast in Belfast in 1971. McClenaghan had befriended Mr Nicholl, who sat alongside him on the Victims and Survivors Forum, without Mr Nicholl knowing his past. Yet McClenaghan was described as "open and honest" in a press release attacking the News LetterThe late Jackie Nicholl with a picture of his 17-month-old son Colin, who was killed by an IRA blast in Belfast in 1971. McClenaghan had befriended Mr Nicholl, who sat alongside him on the Victims and Survivors Forum, without Mr Nicholl knowing his past. Yet McClenaghan was described as "open and honest" in a press release attacking the News Letter
The late Jackie Nicholl with a picture of his 17-month-old son Colin, who was killed by an IRA blast in Belfast in 1971. McClenaghan had befriended Mr Nicholl, who sat alongside him on the Victims and Survivors Forum, without Mr Nicholl knowing his past. Yet McClenaghan was described as "open and honest" in a press release attacking the News Letter

If it had succeeded, it would have had a revolutionary effect on news journalism in the British Isles, sharply restricting the scope of what could be reported.

The case is explained in full in the link below, but in one sentence, here’s what our article had revealed:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A posthumous book written by a fatal victim of republican paramilitaries (Lyra McKee), about two fatal victims of republican paramilitaries (Robert Bradford and Kenneth Campbell), was going to financially benefit an outfit called Paper Trail, one of whose trustees was (and remains) an unrepentant former republican bomber (Robert McClenaghan).

On July 18 a letter arrived announcing the News Letter might be sued for libel (among other things).

And on the same day a lengthy press release was issued by Excalibur Press, the publisher of Ms McKee’s posthumous book, excoriating this reporter personally and dubbing the article “inaccurate” and “absolutely irresponsible”.

In it, Paper Trail chairman Niall Ó’Murchú said: “This cynical attempt by the News Letter to portray Paper Trail as an ‘ex-IRA bomber’s group’ is a misrepresentation and is as damaging as it is offensive.”

Except it wasn’t a misrepresentation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And far from the News Letter having libelled anyone, our lawyers believed that - if anything - we may in fact have a valid libel action ourselves over the press release if we wanted to pursue it (we declined).

The press release claimed that McClenaghan had been “open and honest about his past”.

The extent of this can be easily tested.

McClenaghan had befriended a man called Jackie Nicholl, who sat alongside him on the Victims and Survivors Forum.

Mr Nicholl’s 17-month-old son Colin had been killed by an IRA blast in Belfast in 1971, and he had no idea about McClenaghan’s past as a bomber.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Once the the news was broken to him in 2018, he quit the forum in disgust (and has since died).

So much for McClenaghan being “open and honest”.

Thanks to those who supported us in this court case, and thanks to you for reading.

Landmark libel win: Paper Trail case against News Letter collapses with plaintiffs paying towards costs

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With the coronavirus lockdowns having had a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions

now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry, Editor