She had got away with insulting and defaming anyone and everyone, assisted on occasion by the shamefully bad press regulation regime overseen by the sham that is IPSO, for so long, despite the Murdoch Sun dispensing with her services as a columnist as she was too toxic even for them - but pro-am motormouth Katie Hopkins finally came horribly, and more importantly, expensively unstuck today as she lost a libel case.
Viewers may want to look away now
Hatey Katie (for it was she) casually, mistakenly and wrongly libelled writer, campaigner and all-round sound person Jack Monroe in a routinely unpleasant Twitter outburst as she snarked “scrawled on any memorials recently? Vandalised memory of those who fought for your freedom. Grandma got any more medals?” As Mx Monroe has a brother in the RAF, and her father saw service in the Falklands campaign as a member of the Parachute Regiment, that was not merely defamatory, but needlessly cruel.
Jack Monroe - sound person
Ms Hopkins had, it seemed, mixed up Mx Monroe and Laurie Penny, but that was no excuse. Jack Monroe gave her the option of just saying sorry: “I'm asking you nicely to please delete this lie Katie, and if I have to ask again it will be through my lawyer”. No reply. So there was a reminder: “Come on Hopkins, tick tock, hit delete & say sorry - this is a blatant lie & my lawyer has it in her inbox. Bring it”. Still no reply.
Deletion would have cost Ms Hopkins NOTHING
So Mx Monroe raised her a few chips: “Dear @KTHopkins, public apology + £5k to migrant rescue & I wont sue. It'll be cheaper for you & v.satisfying for me”. Only after that did Hatey Katie delete the offending Tweet, and even then she had a needlessly abusive parting shot at both Mx Monroe and Ms Penny. There was no apology.
Katie Hopkins was then given a deadline to say sorry. She failed so to do. So, with the certainty of night following day, and the singularly tenacious advocacy of Mark Lewis acting on their behalf, Jack Monroe sued. It did not help Ms Hopkins’ cause that, in the meantime, she landed Mail Online with a £150,000 damages bill after she libelled a family who had been denied entry to the USA, because they were Muslims.
Still would have only cost £5,000
As those libelled had retained the services of Messrs Carter, Ruck, the total bill for Ms Hopkins’ casual defamation was probably a lot higher. And now has come judgment for Hatey Katie: the Tweet she could have just deleted and apologised for - for nothing, and then for £5,000 - will cost her £24,000. And then there are costs.
Although Mx Monroe will not receive indemnity costs (and so will receive around 65% to 70% of her costs, rather than 100%, from Ms Hopkins), Mail Online’s motormouth has been ordered to stump up £107,000 on account. That means paying up now - and that there will be more. A lot more. And this time, she’ll have to foot the bill herself.
OUCH
Katie Hopkins seems not to have taken on board that the Sun binned her because she was too nasty even for the Murdoch goons. She’s cost Mail Online a shed load of dosh because of her Islamophobic obsession. And now she’s lost a significant sum of her own money by libelling Jack Monroe - and putting them through all the unnecessary trauma of being cross-examined in court. Perhaps she will get the message this time.
Hate speech is not good, not clever - and it’s bang out of order. Bye bye Katie Hopkins.
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but why is she not responsible for 100% of Monroe's costs?
ReplyDeleteIts great when the good guys win; doesn't happen often enough.
ReplyDeleteThe increasingly strident Brendan O'Neill of Spooked (financed by the creepy & shadowy Oz "think tank" the IPA)is wringing his hands over this judgement and wailing it's yet another blow for 'free speech". I've never used this funny term before but..lol
ReplyDeleteAnother thing struck me. Given that Monroe only got 60-70% of her costs, won't that still leave her massively out of pocket given the award was only £24k, and how is this right?
ReplyDelete@welladriansays
ReplyDeleteThe £300k represents Monroe legal fees, Hopkins will also have to settle her own, plus 24k compensation - and while she may hang on in some of the filthier corners of the press, she will lose invitations and appearances on shows that wish to be taken more seriously.
It is also possible that outlets like the Mail or LBC may decide to drop her to pretend they have a higher moral stance. - They don't, but hipocracy has been pretty standard procedure at such places - they allow their employees free rein to say the unsayable, then burn them when public opinion gets too angry.
I'm hoping this will destroy her career, but if it doesn't, I wouldn't be surprised if this episode has cost her closer to £1m.
Can someone who knows more about such thngs than I do enlighten me as to whether Ms Hopkins' insurers will be able to refuse payment of her costs on the grounds that she failed to settle at the much mower sum .....???
ReplyDeleteIn the eyes of mainstream media loony Hopkins committed the gravest sin: She got found out. Legally.
ReplyDeleteNot that it's bothered Murdoch trash where Brooks and Mackenzie are concerned. the Scum will still sell its muck to the denizens of Essex. As will the Daily Heil.
I bet the costs still caused more than a few bowel movements in Hopkins, though. Which thought is hugely funny.
Karma.
ReplyDeleteNothing awarded to Jack's son who was no doubt affected by the stress in the home at the time?
ReplyDeletePeople forget how these things have a knock on effect. Don't they?
Next time the vile press write stories about people just going about daily lives they need to think on.
The whole family should sue for damages and take them to the cleaners.
Bastards.