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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Bates told to pay libel damages | Bates told to pay libel damages |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Leeds United chairman Ken Bates has been told to pay £50,000 libel damages to an ex-director of the football club who alleged he had been "persecuted". | |
| Businessman Melvyn Levi, 65, brought the action at London's High Court over a letter and three articles written in Leeds United match-day programmes. | |
| Mr Levi said he had been accused of trying to blackmail the club and of being unscrupulous and dishonourable. | Mr Levi said he had been accused of trying to blackmail the club and of being unscrupulous and dishonourable. |
| Mr Bates, 78, had denied libel, pleading fair comment. | Mr Bates, 78, had denied libel, pleading fair comment. |
| Judge Sir Charles Gray said the libel action arose from events surrounding the acquisition of Leeds United by a consortium headed by Mr Bates in 2005. | |
| Mr Levi claimed the material in the club programmes contained "grave and offensive" libels which "seriously injured" his reputation. | Mr Levi claimed the material in the club programmes contained "grave and offensive" libels which "seriously injured" his reputation. |
| He was one of the members of the Yorkshire Consortium which bought the club about 10 months before Mr Bates's purchase. | |
| 'Serious' allegations | |
| Mr Levi said he was accused of being a "shyster" who had tried to blackmail the club over money. | Mr Levi said he was accused of being a "shyster" who had tried to blackmail the club over money. |
| The judge ruled that Mr Bates had failed in his defences of justification and fair comment. | The judge ruled that Mr Bates had failed in his defences of justification and fair comment. |
| Sir Charles described the allegation of blackmail as "particularly serious". | |
| He said the libels were repeated "on several occasions over a period of 10 months" and the "publishees, principally supporters of the club, were persons whose esteem Mr Levi valued". | |
| Mr Bates, who lives in Monaco and was not present for the judgement, was refused permission to appeal. | |
| However, he could still apply directly to the Court of Appeal. | |
| A libel claim made by Mr Levi in relation to a letter written by Mr Bates to club members in August 2007 failed, as the judge ruled it was covered by qualified privilege. | |
| After the decision was announced Mr Levi, who lives in Leeds, said: "I am happy. All I wanted to do was to clear my name and I have done." |