Libeled Brit pol mulls suit against 10,000 tweeters

LONDON — A former British politician wrongly named on Twitter as a pedophile after a false report by the British Broadcasting Corp. may expand the reach of libel law with his threat to sue thousands of people over online posts.

Alastair McAlpine, 70, a former Tory party treasurer, has said he’ll take legal action against about 10,000 people who he says tweeted or retweeted defamatory posts after the BBC wrongly implied he sexually abused a boy in the 1970s.

“With Twitter and the Internet generally, people think it’s not the same as publishing a newspaper, book or magazine, but if you are the author, then you take responsibility for it, ”media lawyer Ruth Collard, who isn’t involved in the dispute, said in a phone interview. “It’s no defense to say you had no idea.”

The BBC, the world’s largest broadcaster, agreed to pay McAlpine $295,000 after the Nov. 2 error on its “Newsnight” report, which gave hints about the expolitician’s identity without naming him. Before the mistake was uncovered, Twitter posts accusing McAlpine were already spreading.

Until now, the highestprofile Twitter libel in Britain involved former New Zealand cricket captain Chris Cairns suing Lalit Modi, exchairman of an Indian league, for tweeting that he fixed matches. Modi failed to prove the claim in court, and was ordered in March to pay $143,000 in damages.