£90k payout for Packham after libel win

Environmentalist Chris Packham has been awarded £90,000 in damages after winning his High Court libel claim over allegations he misled the public into donating to a wildlife charity.

The TV naturalist sued three men over nine articles which included claims he “manipulated” people into donating to rescue five tigers while knowing they were well looked after.

The strongly denied allegations, repeated in several tweets and videos, related to Mr Packham’s involvement with the Wildheart Trust.

Dominic Wightman, editor of the online Country Squire Magazine, defended the libel claim along with writer Nigel Bean and a third man, Paul Read.

In a judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Saini ruled in Mr Packham’s favour against Mr Wightman and Mr Bean, saying: “Mr Packham did not commit any acts of fraud or dishonesty.”

As well as being ordered to pay the five-figure sum in damages, Mr Wightman and Mr Bean must pay £400,000 towards Mr Packham’s legal fees within 28 days.

However, Mr Justice Saini found that Mr Read “had no editorial or equivalent responsibility for the statements complained of or the decision to publish them” and dismissed the claim against him.

During the trial earlier this month, lawyers for Mr

Wightman and Mr Bean said the articles in the claim could be defended as true or under the public interest.

However, Mr Justice Saini said that Mr Wightman and Mr Bean “fail to come even close to establishing the substantial truth” of the allegation Mr Packham defrauded anyone.

The presenter’s barrister Jonathan Price – who once described the allegations as “tiger fraud” – previously told the High Court in London that some of the articles accused Mr Packham of having an “obvious nastiness” and playing the “Asperger’s victim card”.

The judge added that the men had previously said

they would allege Mr Packham was a rapist, bully and a pervert. “There is not a shred of evidence in support of the offensive allegations,” Mr Justice Saini said.

Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Mr Packham called the judgment “a full and frank vindication of my innocence”.

VICTORY: Naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham at the Royal Courts of Justice.