Noel Clarke set to learn outcome of libel claim against Guardian publisher

Actor Noel Clarke is set to discover whether he has been successful in his High Court libel claim against the publisher of the Guardian on Friday.

Clarke, 49, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over seven articles and a podcast, including an article in April 2021 that said 20 women who knew him professionally had come forward with allegations of misconduct.

Clarke denies the allegations, while GNM is defending its reporting as being both true and in the public interest.

A trial earlier this year heard from multiple witnesses who made accusations against Clarke, including that he had allegedly shared nude photographs of them without their consent, groped them, and asked them to look at him when he was exposed.

Barristers for Clarke told the court that there is a conspiracy of people with financial and personal grudges against him who engineered his downfall because they could not bear to see him receive a Bafta award.

Mrs Justice Steyn is set to hand down her ruling at 10.30am on Friday.

The trial of the libel claim was held from early March to early April at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Clarke, who has previously appeared in TV shows including Doctor Who, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Bulletproof, gave evidence over several days.

At one stage, he appeared visibly emotional as he claimed the publisher had “smashed my life”.

He said: “They have smashed my life for four years with this rubbish, this nonsense. Four years.”

He continued: “I did not do this, I would not do this. I have got children. This is not true.”

He later said that while he was “a flawed guy”, he added: “The reason I stand here four years later is I am not what they have branded me.”

Philip Williams, representing the actor, said that his client was a “casualty” of a media “purge” following the emergence of the MeToo movement.

He continued that Clarke was made a “scapegoat” and was an “easy target” because he was at the height of his success when the media industry “zealously sought to correct itself”.

The barrister also criticised the Guardian’s investigation, saying the newspaper “manifestly failed to do its job properly”.Mr Williams asked the court to find the claim successful, saying the Guardian’s reporting has caused serious harm to Clarke’s career, with “continuing hostile reactions online and in public discourse”.

Gavin Millar KC, for GNM, said there is “not a shred of evidence” to support Clarke’s claim of a conspiracy, describing it as “nonsensical and rather desperate speculation”.

He said Clarke has a “very clear motive to lie” because he “stands to lose a great deal”.

In written submissions, Mr Millar said Clarke “used his power to prey on and harass female colleagues” over a period of 15 years.

He said: “This was a careful and thorough investigation conducted conscientiously by Guardian journalists who were aware of the potential pitfalls.

“They received information from a wide range of sources with direct evidence of misconduct and in each case carefully considered and tested the information they were given, electing to publish only such information as they believed was credible.”