FORMER Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has been awarded €100,000 in damages after winning his libel action against the BBC.
Mr Adams said that a BBC Spotlight programme, and an accompanying online story, defamed him by alleging he sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson, for which he denies any involvement.
The jury found in favour with Gerry Adams in court todayLiam McBurney/PA Wire
A jury at the High Court in Dublin found in his favour on Friday, after determining that was the meaning of words included in the programme and article.
It also found the BBC’s actions were not in good faith and that it had not acted in a fair and reasonable way.
Mr Donaldson was shot dead in Co Donegal in 2006, months after admitting his role as a police and MI5 agent over 20 years.
In the programme broadcast in September 2016, an anonymous source given the pseudonym Martin claimed the shooting was sanctioned by the political and military leadership of the IRA and that Mr Adams gave “the final say”.
In 2009, the dissident republican group the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the killing and a Garda investigation into the matter remains ongoing.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
