Victims of Bennell lose court fight for damages

EIGHT men who sued Manchester City after being abused by paedophile coach Barry Bennell have lost their fight for damages at the High Court. The group, now aged in their 40s and 50s, said Bennell, now 68, abused them when they were playing schoolboy football for teams he coached in the north west of England between 1979 and 1985. They claimed convicted abuser Bennell was a scout for City at the time, that the relationship between him and City was ‘one of employment or akin to employment’ and that City were liable for the harm they suffered. Six of the eight also claimed for loss of footballrelated earnings. However, Mr Justice Johnson ruled in City’s favour, saying they were not legally responsible for Bennell’s abuse. The victims will appeal. In a 134-page ruling, the judge said the case was more than 25 years out of time and added it was ‘not fair, after all these years, to reach a binding determination on Manchester City’s responsibility for the abuse based on the partial evidence still available’. Mr Johnson found there was no contract between Bennell and the club and that their agreement was ‘entirely voluntary and did not involve payment’, adding: ‘He was therefore neither an employee nor an independent contractor.’ He concluded: ‘The connection between the abuse and Bennell’s relationship with Manchester City is insufficient to give rise to vicarious liability. ‘The relationship gave Bennell the opportunity to commit the abuse, but Manchester City had not entrusted the welfare of the claimants to Bennell.’ The decision to call Bennell to give evidence, made by lawyers on behalf of City’s insurers, drew considerable criticism, with Bennell brought face to face with his victims via videolink from prison. Many questioned the logic of the move and Mr Johnson agreed. ‘Bennell displayed a clear hostile animus,’ he wrote. ‘There was no indication of remorse or recognition of the consequences of his offending.’ Following the 2016 revelations about Bennell, City set up a no-liability compensation scheme for his victims and have paid out £4million to around 70 people. David McClenaghan, who represented the victims, said: ‘My clients and I are both shocked and dismayed at the decision. We will be appealing in the higher courts where we are confident we will secure a just result.’ A City spokesperson said: ‘We understand that the claimants intend to appeal, so it would therefore not be appropriate to comment further. Manchester City has apologised without reservation for the unimaginable suffering that each survivor experienced. The club reiterates this apology.’