The chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, Prof Sir Desmond Rea, has received substantial damages after being libelled in an article published by Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd, the High Court heard yesterday.
Although the amount was not revealed in court, it is believed to be a substantial five-figure sum. The action was settled out of court this morning, but a full apology from the company was read out.
A solicitor said: "In the February 27th, 2005, edition of the Sunday Independent, the defendants (Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd) published an article under the headline 'Web of intrigue surrounds former bank boss Phil Flynn', which contained an erroneous reference to Sir Desmond Rea.
"The article wrongly stated that Sir Desmond had resigned from his position as chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and that he had been a director of Harcourt Developments and that he had 'sat beside Mr Flynn on the board of Harcourt'.
"The defendants accept that these statements were incorrect and very much regret any embarrassment or distress caused to Sir Desmond, who the defendants fully accept has had absolutely no association or contact with Phil Flynn whatsoever.
"The defendants unreservedly apologise to Sir Desmond."
After the settlement was agreed, Sir Desmond's solicitor, Paul Tweed, said: "My client acknowledges that the Sunday Independent, in common with the Belfast Telegraph, moved quickly to correct and to unreservedly apologise for what were outrageous and totally false inferences."
The Sunday Independent published a full retraction of the report and an apology in its March 6th edition this year, while the Belfast Telegraph published an apology on its front page on March 3rd, relating to a repetition of the same allegations.
In February Mr Flynn resigned from his position on the Irish Government's decentralisation committee after being interviewed by the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau during an investigation into money laundering.
He also stepped down as the chairman of the Bank of Scotland (Ireland).