ER Editor: This case is five and a half years old. Why this, why now? Excellent news nonetheless.
Harcombe/Kendrick vs Associated Newspapers…
I’m delighted to say it’s finally over!
5.5 years after the articles were published, they are down and an apology has been made.
Thank you SO much to everyone who made this even possible – especially Claire & Dominic at Carter-Ruck… pic.twitter.com/uILhUXy5br
A hard fought battle won decisively by @zoeharcombe, Malcolm Kendrick and their team. A win for academic freedom to dissent without unfounded accusations of dishonesty. And for people’s right to make their own, informed, judgements on their treatment.https://t.co/Y1EIWFITSmpic.twitter.com/7KyeYj5stY
Mega congrats to Dr. Zoe Harcombe and Dr. Malcolm Kendrick! Statins have pathetic benefits and many nasty side effects. They were attacked for calling some of this this out, and now the lamestream media has to APOLOGISE and pay them damages 👍 https://t.co/Dc0BLYz9ui
BREAKING: Doctors win libel case against British tabloid
Associated Newspapers Ltd will now pay “substantial damages and costs” and apologise for defaming two doctors.
Maryanne Demasi, PhD
In a David and Goliath battle, two doctors have won a libel case against a British tabloid and journalist Barney Calman, in what the judge described as “the most significant piece of defamation litigation” he had seen in a very long time.
The UK’s High Court found that Calman and his publishers, Associated Newspapers Ltd, had falsely accused Malcolm Kendrick MD and Zoë Harcombe PhD of deliberately making false statements about statin drugs and putting many people at risk of heart attacks and strokes, with far graver consequences than the MMR scandal.
Malcolm Kendrick MD and Zoë Harcombe PhD win libel case
Further, Calman’s article inappropriately branded the two doctors as dishonest brokers, who were focused on the business of selling books that downplay the role of cholesterol in heart disease.
Barney Calman, journalist at Associated Newspapers Ltd
Calman and his publishers refused to apologise, remove or alter the offending articles which were published in March 2019, so Kendrick and Harcombe sued for libel arguing the articles “caused serious harm” to their reputations.
Calman and his publishers claimed the articles were “honest opinion” published in the public interest, and therefore protected under the Defamation Act 2013. But Justice Matthew Nicklin denied them a public interest defence in June 2024.
Since then, the publishers decided not to appeal the decision.
Today, the Mail Online issued an apology to Kendrick and Harcombe, conceding that the allegations it printed were “untrue and ought not to have been published.”
It added, “We are happy to set the record straight, and apologise to Dr Harcombe and Dr Kendrick for the distress caused. We will not repeat the allegations and have agreed to pay substantial damages and costs.”
In response to the announcement, Dr Zoë Harcombe said, “I’m delighted to say it’s finally over. Malcolm and I are so grateful to those who made this possible – especially our legal team Claire & Dominic at Carter-Ruck and Adrienne & Godwin at 5RB.”
The offending articles have been removed from the website. The case serves as a stark warning to journalists who use their platform to try and discredit those who challenge orthodoxy.
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