30-05-2025
Gerry Adams' victory in libel case against BBC 'bound to have a chilling effect', says legal expert
Gerry Adams winning his libel case against the BBC is "bound to have a chilling effect" on both the journalism and legal sectors, a legal commentator has said.
Joshua Rosenburg, a legal commentator who worked at the BBC for more than 20 years, said Mr Adams' success will "make people think twice about defending cases... It will make people think twice about investigative journalism".
"Even if they thought that they were in the right, but they simply couldn't afford to go to court."
He added: "It will make people ever more careful to ensure that they don't say something that they can't defend and justify in court."
On Thursday, the former leader of Sinn Féin was awarded €100,000 (£84,000) in damages after winning his libel action against the BBC over allegations made in a Spotlight programme and online article.
It claimed that he sanctioned the killing of British agent Denis Donaldson; he denies any involvement.
Speaking outside the court in Dublin, Mr Adams said the case could have been settled "a long time ago".
However, Mr Rosenburg said settling a libel case "means making an apology, which is very embarrassing".
"The BBC said that it supplied extensive evidence to the court of the careful editorial process, and it was accepted and conceded by Gerry Adams' legal team that the broadcast and publication were in the highest public interest.
"They clearly felt they had no option but to defend their journalism."
Despite losing the case, BBC journalist Jennifer O'Leary said: "I had nothing to hide, only sources to protect, and I want to thank them for trusting me".
BBC director Adam Smyth said the organisation was disappointed with the verdict.
He said: As our legal team made clear, if the BBC's case cannot be won under existing Irish defamation law, it's hard to see how anyone's could. And they warned that today's decision could hinder freedom of expression."
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