Former Doctor Who actor Noel Clarke has been ordered to pay the Guardian an initial £3 million towards its legal costs after losing his libel claim over an investigation that accused him of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women.
Mrs Justice Steyn made the order at the High Court on Tuesday, noting that the Guardian's total legal costs, which it seeks to recover, were 'significantly in excess of £6 million'. In a judgment last month, the judge rejected Clarke's claims and ruled that the newspaper had succeeded in its defences of truth and public interest.
The judge said Clarke could expect to pay a higher proportion of costs due to his conduct during the trial, describing him as 'not a credible or reliable witness' who made a 'far-fetched and indeed false' case. She noted a pattern of only admitting what was established by documentary evidence and criticised his unfounded allegations of dishonesty against three Guardian journalists.
Gavin Millar KC, for Guardian News & Media, said Clarke's 'unreasonable conduct', including introducing unfounded allegations of a conspiracy, had 'inevitably massively increased the scale and costs of the litigation'. The judge agreed that Clarke bore responsibility for the increased costs.
Clarke, who represented himself, said he had used his life savings, remortgaged his family home, and had little income for over four-and-a-half years. However, Steyn stated that ability to pay is only relevant at the enforcement stage, not in determining the interim payment amount.
