Gerry Adams awarded £84,000 in BBC libel case

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Gerry Adams has been awarded €100,000 (£84,000) in damages after winning a libel case against the BBC.
The former Sinn Fein leader said that a BBC Spotlight programme, and an accompanying online story, defamed him by alleging he sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Fein official and MI5 agent Denis Donaldson, for which he denies any involvement.
On Friday, a jury at the High Court in Dublin found in his favour.
It also found the BBC's actions were not in good faith and that it had not acted in a fair and reasonable way.
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.
Mr Adams said the allegation was a 'grievous smear' while the BBC has described the legal action as a 'cynical attempt to launder his reputation'.
Speaking outside court, Mr Adams said: 'From my perspective, taking this case was was about putting manners on the British Broadcasting Corporation.
'I know many, many journalists. I like to think that I get on well with the most of them, and I wish you well, and I would uphold your right to do your job.
'But the British Broadcasting Corporation upholds the ethos of the British state in Ireland, and in my view it's out of sync in many, many fronts with the Good Friday Agreement.
'It hasn't caught on to where we are on this island as part of the process, the continuing process, of building peace and justice, and harmony, and, hopefully, in the time ahead, unity.'
The high-profile republican sought damages of at least €200,000 from the BBC.
However, the broadcaster had argued it would be a 'cruel joke' to award the former Sinn Fein president any damages.
The jury determined that Mr Adams should be awarded €100,000, which the jury heard falls on the medium scale for defamation.
Mr Justice Owens sent the jury out to begin deliberations at 10.25am on Thursday morning, in the fifth week of proceedings.
The jury was tasked with determining whether the words in the BBC Spotlight programme and accompanying article, on which Mr Adams brought the complaint, mean that he sanctioned and approved the murder of Donaldson.
Mr Justice Owens said they were to consider whether it was 'more likely than not' that a 'hypothetical reasonable reader' would take that meaning from the words.
The BBC had argued that the jury should not find that this was the meaning of the words, instead saying the claim had been put forward as an allegation that was immediately followed by Mr Adams's denial.
Having agreed with Mr Adams on that point, the jurors then had to consider whether the BBC's actions were fair and reasonable as well as whether it acted in good faith.
They determined that the broadcaster had not acted in such a manner.
They returned with their verdict on Friday, after six hours and 49 minutes of deliberations.
Mr Justice Owens told the jury that the BBC had put forward the position that Mr Adams had 'no reputation at all' and the broadcaster had argued to the jury that it should award only nominal damages, putting forward the option of just one euro.
Mr Adams's team had argued that the defamation fell within the 'very serious' or 'exceptional' end of the scale – seeking at least €200,000.
Adam Smyth, director of BBC Northern Ireland, expressed disappointment at the outcome.
Speaking outside court, he said: 'The implications of their decision, though, are profound. As our legal team made clear, if the BBC's case cannot be won under existing Irish defamation law, it is hard to see how anyone's could, and they warned how today's decision would hinder freedom of expression.'
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