The BBC has been ordered to pay €100,000 ($113,000) in damages to ex-Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams in a libel case about the murder of an Irish MI5 informant. Responding, the BBC said today’s decision could “hinder freedom of expression.”
In a BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight documentary that aired in 2016 plus an online article, Adams was identified by an anonymous contributor as sanctioning the 2006 murder of Denis Donaldson, a member of Sinn Féin and volunteer for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who was then exposed as an MI5 informant and killed soon after. The Real IRA, which was distinct from the Provisional, claimed responsibility for his murder in 2009.
According to BBC News, Adams’ legal bill is believed by sources to be between €3M to €5M. This would make the trial one of the most expensive cases the BBC has ever fought.
Adams has always denied all involvement with Donaldson’s murder and a hearing in Dublin today ordered the BBC to pay him €100,000. Adams is one of the most-well known Irish political figures of the modern era, who was President of Sinn Fein from 1983 to 2018. He had previously condemned the murder of Donaldson.
Adams was witness to the trial that has taken place over the past five weeks, which saw the BBC argue a defence of fair and reasonable reporting on a matter of public interest.
BBC News reported that the 11-person jury had to answer five questions.
They answered “yes” to whether the words in the programme “mean Mr Adams sanctioned and approved Denis Donaldson’s murder”. They answered the same to whether the news article accompanying the doc did the same. They answered “no” to whether the BBC reported the allegations in good faith and they decided Adams should be awarded €100,000 upon being questioned over how much the damages were worth.
Responding, BBC Northern Ireland Director Adam Smyth said the implications of the decision are “profound” and “could hinder freedom of expression.”
“As our legal team made clear, if the BBC’s case cannot be won under existing Irish defamation law, it’s hard to see how anyone’s could,” he added. “We didn’t want to come to court, but it was important that we defend our journalism and we stand by that decision. Our past is difficult terrain for any jury and we thank them for their diligence and careful consideration of the issues in this case.”
Smyth said his team “believe we supplied extensive evidence to the court of the careful editorial process and journalistic diligence applied to this programme,” while “it was accepted by the court, and conceded by Gerry Adams’ legal team, that the Spotlight broadcast and publication were of the highest public interest.”
Spotlight’s reporter Jennifer O’Leary added: “I said in the witness box that I had nothing to hide, only sources to protect and I want to thank them for trusting me.”
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