Arron Banks to receive £35,000 in Cadwalladr libel damages

Oh dear. It seems that the always-online Observer writer Carole Cadwalladr has come unstuck in her never-ending war against Aaron Banks. Back in February, the Brexit-backing businessman won a partially-successful appeal of an earlier libel ruling from June 2022 over her TedTalk claims that he had a ‘covert relationship with Russia.’

The Leave.EU donor initially lost his case last summer against Cadwalladr, who won using the public interest defence. High Court judge Mrs Justice Steyn decided it was reasonable for Cadwalladr to believe what she said was in the public interest – even though it caused harm to Banks’ reputation. He then appealed on the judge’s finding that Cadwalladr’s public interest defence no longer applied from April 2020 when the Electoral Commission accepted the National Crime Agency’s finding that there was no evidence he had committed any criminal offences.

Banks’ lawyers subsequently argued in February 2023 that Cadwalladr had ‘doubled down’ on her claims about the Brexiteer’s relationship with Moscow – in spite of the Electoral Commission’s findings and the fact that Cadwalladr had written Banks a letter of apology in March 2021.