logo
BBC faces criticism over delay in paying court-ordered damages to Gerry Adams

BBC faces criticism over delay in paying court-ordered damages to Gerry Adams

The BBC has been criticised for not yet having paid court-ordered damages to former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams.
The corporation lost a major defamation case earlier this year after Mr Adams took them to court over a 2016 episode of its Spotlight programme and an accompanying online story.
They contained an allegation that Mr Adams sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson. Mr Adams denied any involvement.
In May, a jury at the High Court in Dublin found in his favour and awarded him 100,000 euros (£84,000) after determining that was the meaning of words included in the programme and article.
The BBC, which was found by the jury not to have acted in good faith nor in a fair and reasonable way, was also ordered to pay the former Sinn Fein leader's legal costs.
Adam Smyth, director of BBC NI, expressed disappointment in the verdict and said the corporation believes it supplied extensive evidence to the court of the careful editorial process and journalistic diligence applied to the programme and accompanying online article.
After the decision, the broadcaster's legal team was granted a stay in the payment of the full award as it took time to consider an appeal, subject to paying half the damages (50,000 euros or £42,000) and 250,000 euros (£210,000) towards solicitors' fees.
In June, the BBC confirmed it would not pursue an appeal.
However, it is understood that by August 1 the BBC had not paid the damages.
Mr Adams previously indicated that he planned to donate what he receives to good causes.
He specified that these would include for children in Gaza as well as groups in the Irish language sector and those who are homeless.
A source close to Mr Adams told the PA news agency: 'The delay by the BBC is deplorable and it should move speedily towards discharging the order of the court.'
A BBC spokesperson said: 'Total costs will be finalised and payable in due course.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Costa Blanca gang war fears as crime boss shot dead in tourist hotspot in broad daylight
Costa Blanca gang war fears as crime boss shot dead in tourist hotspot in broad daylight

Daily Mirror

timea few seconds ago

  • Daily Mirror

Costa Blanca gang war fears as crime boss shot dead in tourist hotspot in broad daylight

Gangster Caner Kocer is said to have made threats online before he was shot by two gunmen in the popular Spanish resort of Torrevieja in front of a terrified mum with her baby British tourists are on alert after a Turkish crime boss was murdered in a popular Spanish resort amid fears the shooting could spark a gang war. The victim, named as Caner Kocer, 30, was gunned down on Sunday evening in the centre of Torrevieja, south of Alicante on the Costa Blanca. Two hitmen fired six shots from close range before fleeing in a getaway car waiting nearby which was driven by a third suspect. Witnesses to the 7pm attack, in the old town area near the seafront which is popular with tourists, included a mother with a baby in a pushchair. Turkish media reported Kocer is one of the leaders of an organised crime gang known as the "Daltons" who have been in dispute with rivals the Caspers group. It comes after a man brutally killed a woman on a first date and left her body parts around town. Three Turkish men have reportedly been arrested. The Daltons gang are said to be part of a new generation of Turkish criminal who target young people through social media platforms like TikTok, ensnaring them into carrying out extortion and robbery. Turkish media has reported that Kocer's gang are now preparing to retaliate raising fears of further bloodshed in Spain. A member of the Daltons gang was extradited from Georgia to Turkey last month suspected of a string of shootings in Istanbul. And the gang are also suspected of carrying out a string of shootings in Greece in recent years including in May when gunmen opened fire at undercover police officers. Bullets were fired at the cops as they followed Daltons members who were suspected of being in the process of planning another hit. Kocer had been making threats on social media before his killing and was pictured pointing a gun at the camera alongside words in Turkish which translate as: "Spain's greatest duck hunter cannot miss the target. He knows the ducks very well. You will swear allegiance." He was shot as he walked by a town centre restaurant. Pictures from the scene showed police and paramedics treating him as lay by the restaurant terrace. Nearby streets were cordoned off until late Sunday as forensic officers carried out a finger-tip search of the scene. Six bullet casings from an automatic firearm are said to have been removed. Three suspects are understood to have been held around 40 minutes after the murder. Turkish media reports said the Daltons Gang are a violent criminal organisation which started out in Istanbul and have been in the news in recent years for assassinations abroad. The Costa Blanca has seen a number of violent incidents involving British and Irish nationals in recent months. The body of Belfast man John George was found hidden in an orchard in Rojales near Torrevieja on January 7. He had been shot. Alleged killer Jonny Smyth, also from Northern Ireland, was extradited to Spain in April after being arrested in Braga in northern Portugal on March 25 and remains on remand in prison. On May 13 an Irishman was left critically injured after being shot in the head near a shopping centre in Orihuela Costa just north of Torrevieja. Belfast man Dan McMeekin was stabbed nearby in June. He was knifed in the neck and rushed to Torrevieja Hospital for a life-saving emergency operation.

Conor McGregor invites Donald Trump to try 'the best Coke in Ireland'... days after losing civil rape case
Conor McGregor invites Donald Trump to try 'the best Coke in Ireland'... days after losing civil rape case

Daily Mail​

timea few seconds ago

  • Daily Mail​

Conor McGregor invites Donald Trump to try 'the best Coke in Ireland'... days after losing civil rape case

Troubled ex-UFC star Conor McGregor has bizarrely invited Donald Trump to visit his Dublin pub and try the 'best Coke in Ireland.' McGregor, who has been embroiled in a string of scandals in recent years including a civil rape case, was invited to the White House earlier this year. And now he wants to return the favor and give the president a 'unique, true, IRISH EXPERIENCE!' at the Black Forge Inn. 'See you in November Donald, at Irelands greatest public house, the multi time award winning, @blackforgeinn!' McGregor wrote on X. 'We look very forward! Ireland's friend @realDonaldTrump, we have the best Coke in all Ireland for you to try! Sparkly fizzy, and on the rocks. With Irish lemon and lime, also! For adding. ICE COLD! 'Our Coca Cola factory is just 5 minutes away on the long mile road, walking distance, from the black forge inn! 'GIVE THAT BOY A CAN OF COKE!' You are going to LOVE IT! The unique, true, IRISH EXPERIENCE!' See you in November Donald, at Irelands greatest public house, the multi time award winning, @blackforgeinn! We look very forward! 🥘🥤 Ireland's friend @realDonaldTrump, we have the best Coke in all Ireland for you to try! Sparkly fizzy, and on the rocks. With Irish lemon… — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 4, 2025 Alongside the social media message, McGregor included an AI image of himself and Trump. They are dressed up as medieval knights around a table of meat and potatoes. In the image, Trump is drinking a can of Coca Cola. McGregor's pub was recently set on fire, with the authorities treating the blaze as criminal damage. Last week, meanwhile, the ex-MMA star lost his attempt to overturn a jury's order that he compensate a woman who accused him of raping her. The court rejected the appeal in its entirety. Nikita Hand alleged that McGregor sexually assaulted her on December 9, 2018. He was found liable back in November and three judges in Dublin rejected all five grounds of the MMA fighter's appeal. McGregor, 37, was ordered to pay nearly €250,000 ($290,000), plus costs after Ms Hand accused him of raping her at a hotel in Dublin in 2018. He denied the allegation and said he had 'fully consensual sex'. He also denied causing bruising to the plaintiff. McGregor was not present for last week's decision, with Hand claiming she had been 'retraumatised' by the appeal. 'To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is but please don't be silenced. You deserve to be heard. You also deserve justice,' she said. Trump hosted the Irish MMA star and his family in the Oval Office on St Patrick's Day, with McGregor even vowing to raise concerns over immigration in Ireland with the president. The 37-year-old, who also attended Trump's inauguration in January, praised the president's 'inspiring' work ethic.

'A year too long': Sinn Féin senator hits out at delay to miscarriage leave law
'A year too long': Sinn Féin senator hits out at delay to miscarriage leave law

BreakingNews.ie

time43 minutes ago

  • BreakingNews.ie

'A year too long': Sinn Féin senator hits out at delay to miscarriage leave law

A Sinn Féin senator has called for more awareness to be raised on the effects of miscarriages after her bill was pushed back by the Government. Nicole Ryan introduced a bill that would entitle women to at least five days of paid leave and their partners to two and a half days. Advertisement The proposed legislation would also lead to the establishment of a confidential opt-in register of pregnancy loss. However, the Government has pushed back the Bill by 12 months Speaking to Ms Ryan spoke of her disappointment at the delay and voiced her concern about what women will go through in the meantime. "12 months is a very long time, and there will be women who are going through miscarriages, various pregnancy losses under 23 weeks, so it was disappointing to see that push back from the Government on this really important issue." Advertisement Ms Ryan said more must be done, by the Government and society in general to make people aware of how a miscarriage can affect someone's life. The Sinn Féin senator shared what women have been telling her of their experience in the workplace following a miscarriage. "A lot of the time, for women, it is a lottery of who your employer is, for instance. "Some have been ment with kindness, others have been met with coldness and questions of when are you going back to work, like you didn't just experience something incredibly traumatic in your life. Advertisement "Some people may not understand how complicated the issue is and how women have lost something. It is a grieving process, whether it is a week or 22 weeks, it is still a loss regardless." "Women are sometimes afraid to say to their employer that they have had a miscarriage, because then it seems they were trying for a child, and they are afraid of being dismissed, or if they are on probation, their probation getting extended or ended. "There is a lot of education that needs to happen for employers, and what a woman would go through. Sometimes a miscarriage could last a whole month or longer, because you have to do check-up appointments, and sometimes take a medical intervention a second time." Ms Ryan was among a number of senators who spoke in the Seanad about their experience of miscarriage. Advertisement Through this experience, Ms Ryan spoke on the lack of support available and the way people talk regarding miscarriages. "Through my experience, I just didn't feel massively supported at all in what I was going through. "Sometimes people say things off the cuff, like at least you can get pregnant, or at least it was only a couple of weeks, you can get on with it. "The minute you find out you are pregnant, you have knocked out a life, you think about their hair colour, their eye colour, what school they might go to, you are planning things in your own head. Advertisement "Then, when that is suddenly ripped away from you, you lose a sense of your own self for a while. It is not as easy as picking myself up and getting on with it." The time that followed Ms Ryan's miscarriage made her more aware of what happens during pregnancy loss, many symptoms and effects she admitted she was unaware of. Ireland Abortion laws 'still failing women who struggle to... Read More The Cork senator says education is key going forward to best help women during a miscarriage. "Even when I was going through it in the hospital setting, I wasn't told a lot of things that were going to happen to me. "I was just told, take this medication, it is going to be a bad period. It was nothing like a bad period; it was way worse. Everything through that miscarriage was incredibly traumatic. "We are doing a disservice to women by not even explaining some of the most basic things around the choices we have to make when it comes to pregnancy loss."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store