Fresh from obtaining libel settlements from the BBC, ITV and Speaker’s wife Sally Bercow for falsely linking him with child abuse claims, Lord McAlpine of West Green is on a roll. He’s snatched the first prize of £182.50 in the Garrick Club Derby Day sweepstake.
Coming second was Jim Naughtie, poser of convoluted questions on Radio 4’s Today programme, who scooped £109.50, while bringing up the rear was financial journalist Christopher Fildes, who won £36.50.
The jackpot is another feather in Lord McAlpine’s cap and he will savour beating the man from the Beeb. However, his winnings on this occasion don’t compare with what the BBC shelled out in libel damages. The Corporation paid Lord McAlpine £185,000 last November but a recent Freedom of Information disclosure revealed that it has also agreed to pay a further £117,000 in legal costs after the erroneous Newsnight report implicated the Tory peer in a child abuse scandal. It is understood to be one of the highest BBC libel payouts in its recent history.
Although the Newsnight broadcast did not identify the peer it was the catalyst for online rumours, culminating in the resignation of George Entwistle as director-general. Lord McAlpine also received £125,000 from ITV after This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield accidentally flashed a list of alleged paedophiles to camera before handing it to the Prime Minister. Sally Bercow agreed a settlement with Lord McAlpine following a High Court ruling that her tweet “Why is Lord McAlpine trending? *innocent face*” was libellous.
