Former Labour MP wins £75,000 in libel damages from union and far-left website
2 min read
A former Labour MP has won £75,000 in libel damages from a union and the owner of a far-left website.
Anna Turley, who represented Redcar from 2015 until she lost her seat last week, sued Unite and blogger Stephen Walker, who runs Skwawkbox, over a story published in 2017.
She said the piece gave the impression she was dishonest in her application to join the union, and claimed they misused her private information.
The article, which included statement from Unite, said she had applied under a Community membership scheme, which was aimed at people not in paid employment.
In court Ms Turley was accused of trying to "conceal, mislead and deceive" so she could vote against its general secretary Len McCluskey in an internal election without the union knowing.
But the ex-MP said Skwawkbox made "false and defamatory" allegations about her, adding: "I am not dishonest and have not lied or sought to mislead.
“My reputation for honesty and integrity are of the utmost importance to me. They go to the root of who I am and why I am in public service."
The judge agreed, concluding publication of the article had caused "serious harm" to Ms Turley's reputation, and rejected claims she had been dishonest.
She said afterwards: “I am very pleased with today's verdict.
"It gave me no pleasure to undertake this action, but the accusations were so serious and damaging to my reputation that I had no choice but to defend myself through the courts."
In response Unite said they were “very disappointed with the court’s decision”, and confirmed they wold be appealing.
In a statement they said: “Anna Turley joined a section of Unite which was only open to the unwaged, this was to enable her to hide her membership from Unite and for the sole purpose of voting in the union’s general secretary election.
“She then chose to sue for comments released by a Unite press spokesperson which appeared in a publication that we maintain we did not have responsibility for.”
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