Television presenter Rachel Riley has been awarded £10,000 in damages after suing a former senior aide to Jeremy Corbyn for libel.
Ms Riley, 35, sued Mr Corbyn’s former head of complaints Laura Murray at the High Court over a social media post spat in 2019.
Posting after the court case, the Countdown presenter said: “I’m extremely pleased to have won my libel case vs Laura Murray, former head of complaints for the Labour Party. This has been a very draining process and I am relieved to finally have vindication.”
I’m extremely pleased to have won my libel case vs Laura Murray, former head of complaints for the Labour Party.
— Rachel Riley MBE 💙 (@RachelRileyRR) December 20, 2021
This has been a very draining process and I’m relieved to finally have vindication.
Huge thanks to @MLewisLawyer, a superhero whose help has been unquantifiable. 🙏 https://t.co/iZUqjLo2x4
Thanking her lawyer, she added: “Huge thanks to (Mark) Lewis, a superhero whose help has been unquantifiable.”
The dispute began more than two years ago after Mr Corbyn was hit with an egg during a visit to mosque in March, 2029.
Ms Riley posted a screenshot about a previous egg attack on former British National Party leader Nick Griffin which said: “I think sound life advice is, if you don’t want eggs thrown at you don’t be a Nazi.”
Reposting the screenshot of Mr Owen Jones’ tweet, Ms Riley wrote “good advice” with emojis of a red rose and an egg.
Later Ms Murray tweeted: “Today Jeremy Corbyn went to his local mosque for Visit My Mosque day and was attacked by a Brexiteer. Rachel Riley tweets that Corbyn deserves to be violently attacked because he is a Nazi. This woman is as dangerous as she is stupid. Nobody should engage with her. Ever.”
In High Court, Mr Justice Nicklin heard that Ms Riley said her tweet was sarcastic, that she did not call the former Labour leader a Nazi and Ms Murray’s tweet had caused serious harm to her reputation.
Riley told the court she was Jewish and had a “hatred of antisemitism” and that the former Labour leader was fostering anti-Jewish racism.
Ms Murray argued that what she tweeted had been true and her honestly held opinion but at an earlier hearing Mr Justice Nicklin ruled the post was defamatory. The court ruling concluded there is a “clear element of provocation”.
Mr Justice Nicklin was also asked to consider whether serious harm had been caused to the presenter’s reputation and whether Ms Murray, who is now a teacher, had a defence of truth, honest opinion, or public interest.
He concluded that Ms Riley had demonstrated Ms Murray’s tweet had caused serious harm and that the Countdown presenter, who is currently on maternity leave, had a right to “vindication”.
