Hi °C | Lo °C A retired musician felt that his life was put in danger after he was wrongly alleged to be a paedophile, the High Court has heard.
George Gibbs, of Liverpool, suffered “significant distress” after a photo of him, captioned with his surname, was featured in an article in The Sun in March this year, said counsel Godwin Busuttil.
Headed ‘Smashed: World's biggest paedo ring’, the story alleged Mr Gibbs had been deported from Thailand because of his involvement in child sex offences.
Counsel said the allegation was false and a “grave slur” on Mr Gibbs' reputation and integrity.
“Understandably, given the emotive nature of the allegation, the claimant felt that his life had been put in danger.”
He added that News Group Newspapers, which now accepted that the allegation was untrue, had agreed to publish a correction and pay Mr Gibbs “substantial” damages over the libel.
