Khalid Undre, a vegetarian restaurateur, was today awarded £9000 libel damages arising out of a news release reporting his conviction for animal cruelty offences.
The London Borough of Harrow, which had successfully prosecuted Mr Undre for offences relating to the welfare of his herd of cows, issued a news release inaccurately stating that Mr Undre had been found guilty of offences leading to the death of the herd. Mr Undre and his company sued for libel. The company’s claim was dismissed by Warby J after a trial in April 2016.
The defendant made an offer of amends to Mr Undre personally. After a trial on damages, Sir David Eady (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) awarded Mr Undre £9000. Because he failed to beat the Defendant’s offer made in March 2016 to pay £10,000 damages, Mr Undre was ordered to pay the Defendant’s costs from that date, estimated at around £80,000.
A 5RB case report is available here.
5RB‘s Adam Wolanski acted for the London Borough of Harrow.
