Mrs Justice Steyn DBE dismissed the application of the claimant, Noel Clarke, to strike out the Guardian’s defence of his claim for libel. The claimant had alleged that Guardian journalists had deleted relevant documents and fabricated documents and perverted the course of justice. The Judge did not find any wrongdoing on the part of the journalists and held that that there had not been any attempt to pervert the course of justice and that the allegation of fabrication had no foundation. The trial is set to begin on 3 March 2025.
The Court confirmed the analysis in Hollander as to the conditions that must be met before a claim or defence will be struck out on the basis that a party has not given proper disclosure. It is necessary to show both that the document destruction amounts to perversion of the course of justice and that it has rendered a fair trial impossible. Neither condition was met in the current case.
Alex Marzec and Ben Gallop acted for GNM Limited, led by Gavin Millar KC.
The judgment is available here