Platell Leaves Mail With Big Libel Bill

The Mail Online site still carries most of the fateful column that Amanda Platell threw together for the 27 June Daily Mail. But one pearl of wisdom from the pundit, who has been a regular on the paper review sofa of The Andy Marr Show™ in pre-pandemic times, is now missing. Because it was based on a fake Tweet and taking its target out of context.

Crikey! It's Amanda Bladdy Platell!!

The item, attacking Cambridge Professor Priyamvada Gopal was, therefore, defamatory. But given that the Daily Mail is an Associated Newspapers title, and that group’s past form in stalling and stringing out libel claims, sometimes only conceding defeat at the door of the court, there was never going to be a quick and easy solution to their problem.

And in the meanwhile, Prof Gopal was subjected to a routine onslaught of racist, sexist and misogynistic abuse, as Varsity has reported. The abuse included someone who “said she was ‘disgusting inside and out’, and, ‘[i]f you don’t like white people, pack up your sh*t and go home. Problem solved’ … Other examples include, ‘...On another note, kill yourself. Else someone might show you which lives really Matter :)’”. And there was more.

Prof Priyamvada Gopal

“‘Why would you want to abolish whiteness anyway, we’ve given you everything you own, without us you’d still be chasing Bush meat with a blowpipe,’ from the British Referendum Party”. A later article added “Priyamvada Gopal, Churchill fellow and academic in postcolonial literature in the English Faculty, has been promoted to full Professorial Chair despite a petition on change.org which called for her removal from the University”.

But now Carter Ruck (that means it was expensive) have told “The publisher of the Daily Mail and MailOnline has apologised to leading academic Professor Gopal, over an article which falsely alleged that she was attempting to incite an aggressive and potentially violent race war, and that she supports and endorses the subjugation and persecution of white people. The Mail has also agreed to pay Professor Gopal £25,000 in libel damages, as well as her legal costs”. The Mail has also published a statement.

“Such comments [by Ms Platell] were based on a tweet purportedly by Professor Gopal, which we have subsequently learnt was fake. The statement was therefore false … We are happy to set the record straight and apologise for any distress caused”. They lost.

Prof Gopal has confirmed that Associated Newspapers behaved true to form. “For all that people rightly saying the print is too small and it’s buried, trust me, they did NOT want to do this, kicked, refused, sulked, dragged it out--the works. It took huge patience & determination both on part of my legal team & me (& patience ain't my thing) to get here”.

She also, ominously, signalled that the litigation may not be at an end just yet. “Given that the lie was also widely circulated in United States, from where much of the attack was co-ordinated, seems important to tag [Breitbart London and Breitbart News] who also circulated the false claims. Anyone with a contact there (!), please forward”.

Well, Breitbart London’s “executive editor” is none other than James “saviour of Western civilisation” Delingpole. So Del Boy and his pals have to ask themselves one question.

Do they feel lucky? Because they won’t after the lawyers have cleaned them out.

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