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Freddie Starr loses groping defamation case Freddie Starr loses groping defamation case
(about 1 hour later)
Comedian Freddie Starr has lost his High Court claim against Karin Ward, who said he groped her when she was 15. Freddie Starr has lost his High Court claim against Karin Ward, who said he groped her when she was 15.
Ms Ward, 56, alleges that the assault took place in 1974 behind the scenes of Jimmy Savile's Clunk Click TV show.Ms Ward, 56, alleges that the assault took place in 1974 behind the scenes of Jimmy Savile's Clunk Click TV show.
Mr Starr, 72, of Studley, Warwickshire, denied the claims and sought damages for alleged slander and libel.Mr Starr, 72, of Studley, Warwickshire, denied the claims and sought damages for alleged slander and libel.
Judge Mr Justice Nicol said the case failed because Ms Ward's testimony was found to be true, and because too much time had lapsed.Judge Mr Justice Nicol said the case failed because Ms Ward's testimony was found to be true, and because too much time had lapsed.
The entertainer says he has lost £300,000 from shows being cancelled over the allegations. The entertainer, who was not in court for the ruling, is now reportedly facing a £1m costs bill and says he has lost £300,000 from shows being cancelled over the allegations.
He sued over interviews given to the BBC and ITV in October 2012, statements on a website and those made in an eBook about Ms Ward's life.He sued over interviews given to the BBC and ITV in October 2012, statements on a website and those made in an eBook about Ms Ward's life.
Mr Starr is now reportedly facing a £1m bill in costs.
A previous criminal investigation into Ms Ward's claims by the Crown Prosecution Service decided no charges would be brought.
'Wrecked marriages''Wrecked marriages'
Mother-of-seven Ms Ward - a pupil at Duncroft Approved School, in Staines, Surrey, in March 1974 - told the court Mr Starr had also made a lewd comment about her chest. Mother-of-seven Ms Ward - who was a pupil at Duncroft Approved School, in Staines, Surrey, in 1974 - told the court Mr Starr had also made a lewd comment about her chest.
"I carried that phrase with me all my life and it certainly helped to wreck three marriages," she said."I carried that phrase with me all my life and it certainly helped to wreck three marriages," she said.
Ms Ward, who is from Oswestry, Shropshire, also said she was sexually abused by Savile more than once in return for going to BBC Television Centre in London and being in the Clunk Click audience. Ms Ward, from Oswestry, Shropshire, also said she was sexually abused by Savile more than once in return for being in the Clunk Click audience at BBC Television Centre, London.
She said she had been given lithium while at her school, which had affected her memory, but that she "very vividly" remembered that Mr Starr smelled of alcohol and cologne. She said while she had been given lithium at her school, which affected her memory, she "very vividly" remembered that Mr Starr smelled of alcohol and cologne, which reminded her of her abusive stepfather.
She also said Mr Starr "behaved in the same way that every red-blooded male behaved in 1974 when it was perfectly acceptable" and because of this acceptance, she had not complained.
"It was known back then as a 'goose', when a man would put his hand under a girl's buttocks and give it a squeeze and usually say 'goose' and, at the same time, reach for her breasts and say 'honk, honk'," she told the court."It was known back then as a 'goose', when a man would put his hand under a girl's buttocks and give it a squeeze and usually say 'goose' and, at the same time, reach for her breasts and say 'honk, honk'," she told the court.
"He got as far as the 'goose' and I recoiled because, while I expected that kind of behaviour from all men and was used to it, I was distressed because the smell reminded me of my stepfather.""He got as far as the 'goose' and I recoiled because, while I expected that kind of behaviour from all men and was used to it, I was distressed because the smell reminded me of my stepfather."
'Come forward' Mr Starr said he did not at first remember appearing on Clunk Click in March 1974, until footage showed him in the studio with teenage Ms Ward behind him.
Ms Ward told the judge, who heard the case without a jury, that she was "not prepared to apologise to the claimant or retract what I have said, because I have told the truth about him". During the hearing, Mr Starr had rejected the allegation that he had groped the teenager in Savile's dressing-room and denied having "wandering hands".
Speaking after the ruling, she said she was "relieved" at the outcome. Dismissing the claim, Mr Nicol, who held the case without a jury, said: "She [Ward] has proved that it was true that he groped her - an under-age schoolgirl."
"For anyone who hasn't yet dared to come forward, I say - do not take this case as a reason not to do so. Stand tall, it wasn't your fault, and you have a right to be heard without fear or threat of not being believed. He added that Starr had "humiliated" her and said that in truth, the entertainer had no recollection of what happened that evening.
"You may have had no voice and no choice when you were younger, but now you do." Speaking after the ruling, Ms Ward, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she was "relieved" at the outcome.
During the hearing, Mr Starr had rejected the allegation that he had groped the teenager in Savile's dressing-room, saying his "moral compass" would not allow him to perform such an act. "For anyone who hasn't yet dared to come forward, I say - do not take this case as a reason not to do so," she said. "Stand tall, it wasn't your fault, and you have a right to be heard without fear or threat of not being believed."
He also said he had never groped anyone and denied having "wandering hands". Ms Ward's solicitor, Helen Morris, said after the ruling that Ms Ward had been abandoned by the two broadcasters who interviewed her and had been treated "disgracefully".
In his ruling, Mr Nicol said that the slander based on Ms Ward's interview to the BBC failed because it was brought outside the legal time limit. She also said journalists from the Newsnight and Exposure television programmes had given evidence, in which they said Ms Ward had performed a public service by being the first victim of Savile to speak out, which resulted in 500 further victims coming forward.
The libel claim from the BBC interview in Panorama failed because Ms Ward was not liable for the composite broadcast, and the slander claim from the ITV interview failed because Ms Ward proved it was true that Mr Starr groped and humiliated her, the judge said. A BBC spokesman said Mr Starr sued Ms Ward over ITV reports and other online material that had been made before the BBC Panorama broadcast in October 2012. He added that the BBC had offered to help Ms Ward with her legal costs and was willing to discuss a "fair contribution" to them.
Savile revelations A Crown Prosecution Service investigation into claims brought by Ms Ward and 13 others decided that no charges would be brought.
The claim over the eBook related to allegations which Ms Ward had proved were true, the judge also ruled.
Ms Ward's solicitor, Helen Morris, said in a statement after the ruling that the allegation about Mr Starr was made during two interviews Ms Ward gave about the sexual abuse at the hands of Jimmy Savile.
She said Ms Ward had been abandoned by the two broadcasters who interviewed her and had been treated "disgracefully".
"It is particularly egregious for the BBC and ITV/ITN to have done so when Karin Ward put her head above the parapet to speak out about Savile," she said.
She also said journalists from the Newsnight and Exposure television programmes had given evidence, in which they said Ms Ward had performed a public service by being the first victim of Savile to speak out, which resulted in 500 of his victims coming forward.
A BBC spokesman said Mr Starr sued Ms Ward over ITV reports and other online material that had been made before the BBC Panorama broadcast in October 2012.
"As a contributor to BBC output, the BBC offered to help Ms Ward with a contribution to her legal costs before the trial and remains willing to discuss a fair contribution to her costs, if these cannot be recovered from Mr Starr as ordered by the court."
The police undertook a full investigation into the allegation made by Ms Ward and a further 13 additional complainants who also put forward allegations against Mr Starr.