SOLICITORS who acted for Lee Clegg, the British paratrooper convicted of murdering a Belfast teenager, have been awarded libel damages of £145,000 against the London Times. Five partners in the Belfast firm which represented the paratrooper have now been awarded £455,000 in libel damages against British newspapers. An action against the BBC has still to be heard.
The five partners of solicitors McCartan Turkington Breen sued the Times over a report of a press conference at which defamatory remarks were made about the way in which the firm handled Private Clegg's defence. The award was made in Belfast High Court on Friday.
After Mr Justice Girvan rejected a defence of qualified privilege, a lawyer apologised to the partners on behalf of Times Newspapers Ltd.