Latest news with #Hodges'
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dale Vince to receive damages from Mail publisher as libel claim settled
Green energy industrialist Dale Vince is set to receive £40,000 in damages from the publisher of the Daily Mail after settling a High Court libel claim. Mr Vince took legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) in December over an article published in October last year, which falsely alleged that he supports Hamas, which is a proscribed terrorist group. Lawyers for Mr Vince told the High Court on Monday that the article, which was published online and in the Mail on Sunday, was 'highly defamatory' and had caused 'serious harm to his reputation'. Lawyers for ANL apologised to Mr Vince and said the publisher acknowledged that the allegation 'was untrue and that Mr Vince does not support Hamas in any way'. Under the terms of the settlement, ANL will also pay £30,000 of Mr Vince's legal costs and will publish an apology online and in The Mail on Sunday within 14 days. Reading a joint statement, Mr Vince's lawyer, Annabell Hood, said he had previously been 'falsely accused' of supporting Hamas in a separate article published by the Daily Mail and online in March last year, which also 'called for donations he had made to the Labour Party to be returned'. That case was settled last year, with the company apologising and paying damages, which Ms Hood said Mr Vince donated to charity. The settlement also included 'an undertaking by the defendant not to publish similar allegations in the future'. But Ms Hood said that a second article, written by Dan Hodges, was published last October which 'falsely alleged that Mr Vince had supported or defended the terrorist acts of Hamas' and 'again, called into question the donations he had made to the Labour Party'. She said: 'The publication of Mr Hodges' article has also caused Mr Vince significant distress, not least because he reasonably expected a national newspaper to comply with its undertaking, having been told by the defendant that it had circulated a memorandum to its journalists and editors.' Lizzie Greene, for ANL, said: 'The publication of the Hodges' article was an error which should not have happened. 'The defendant acknowledges that the allegation made in Mr Hodges' article about Mr Vince is untrue and that Mr Vince does not support Hamas in any way. 'We formally retract and withdraw the allegation. 'We wish to publicly set the record straight, and to apologise to the claimant for any damage and distress the publication of Mr Hodges' article caused.' Ms Hood also said that Mr Vince, who is also the co-owner of National League football team Forest Green Rovers, intended to donate the latest damages award to charity. Following the hearing, Mr Vince said ANL 'broke a promise not to repeat a false allegation'. He said: 'Their cash is on the way to Gaza again. People that support Palestinian rights are not terrorists and free speech is not the freedom to be dishonest.'
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Commander of Navy Ship Involved in F/A-18 Friendly Fire Incident Turns over Command
The commanding officer of the USS Gettysburg -- the Navy ship whose crew shot down one of its own fighter jets in the Red Sea in late December -- has finished out his tour on the ship and transferred off, an online statement announced last Thursday. Capt. Justin Hodges was relieved as the commanding officer of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser during an uncommon "at-sea" change of command ceremony on Jan. 30, the statement said. Despite several ongoing investigations into the friendly fire incident looming over the ship and its crew, Navy officials said Hodges was leaving the ship under regular circumstances and that the change of command was occurring on schedule. Read Next: First 10 Migrants Arrive at Guantanamo Bay and Will Be Held in Terrorist Prison However, other details surrounding the change of command -- details that could offer insight into whether the ongoing inquiries into the mishap that left a F/A-18 Super Hornet destroyed at the bottom of the Red Sea impacted Hodges' future in the Navy -- were not immediately available. Navy officials at the Pentagon couldn't immediately say if Hodges received an "end of tour award," a commendation that is largely considered traditional in all but the most egregious of circumstances, or where Hodges' next duty station was following his time aboard the Gettysburg. According to service data provided to by the Navy, Hodges had been the Gettysburg's commander since February 2023. He had previously served aboard the aircraft carriers USS Eisenhower and USS Nimitz. On Dec. 22, the USS Gettysburg crew fired on an F/A-18 that had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, destroying the aircraft and forcing its two aviators to eject. One of the two sailors suffered minor injuries. The U.S. military was conducting airstrikes targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels at the time. Since then, few details have been released about the incident and the investigations are still ongoing. However, the Navy's top aviation officer said in mid-January that officials have already done "a big debrief, basically, to make sure we know what happened and why." The Navy's statement on Hodges' change of command made no reference to the incident. Hodges' awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, four Navy Commendation Medals and a Navy Achievement Medal, according to records provided by the Navy. "Serving as the commanding officer of this extraordinary crew has been the privilege of a lifetime," Hodges said in the statement. Meanwhile, the Gettysburg's new commanding officer, Capt. John Lucas, said "what struck me most about this crew was your attitude and resiliency." "I am motivated, honored, and humbled to be your commanding officer," Lucas said. Related: Navy Leaders Say Faster Training Is Key Lesson Learned from Red Sea Conflict
