Former Coronation Street actor Qasim Akhtar is to receive 'substantial' damages from News Group Newspapers after The Sun falsely claimed he had 'backed' an Islamic cleric associated with extremism.
The 35-year-old, known for playing Zeedan Nazir on the ITV soap, sued News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publishers of The Sun, over an article published in print and digitally in November last year.
False allegations
The article falsely claimed that the Manchester-born actor had 'backed' and 'teamed up with' Islamic cleric Uthman ibn Farooq, was associated with extremism, radicalisation and violence, and had 'moved to Pakistan' and 'trained with guns'.
The publication previously apologised 'unreservedly' to Qasim for the 'serious harm and distress caused to him by the publication of these false allegations'.
High Court settlement
At the High Court before Mrs Justice Tipples, lawyer Daniel Taylor, representing Qasim, said that NGN had agreed to pay the actor 'substantial damages' and cover his legal costs.
Taylor said: 'The defendant has accepted that the publication of the article caused serious harm to Mr Akhtar's reputation and also caused him great distress.'
He added: 'This included reputational harm to his family life and business, which he was forced to put on hold pending the matter being resolved.'
Andrew Wheelhouse, representing News Group Newspapers, said: 'The defendant acknowledges that the article should never have been published and has undertaken never to repeat the allegations.'
Akhtar was not present in court for the hearing.
Social media statement
On social media last month, Qasim told his followers the last six months had been 'very tough to say the least'. He said the allegations 'deeply affected me, my reputation, my family, my safety and my peace of mind.'
He said: 'Justice has been served publicly and I'm thankful that the truth has been acknowledged and my name has been cleared.'
In May, The Sun said they accepted that the allegations had been 'entirely false'. They said: 'Mr Akhtar has never endorsed or supported any such views and strongly condemns all forms of extremism and violence. He has never been involved in or associated with radicalisation nor has he, as further falsely claimed, moved to Pakistan and undertaken firearms training.'
