A statement in open court was made in proceedings for defamation following various allegations made about the claimants in relation to their running of a school.

A statement in open court was made in a libel action brought by the claimants against the defendant (N). The claimants were the director of education, the head teacher, and the chairman of the governors of a school. N made various allegations about the school, including a formal complaint to the General Teaching Council in which he alleged that the head teacher had obtained an excessive management fee from a company set up by the school to run its income-generating operations because he was a close friend of the chairman of the governors. N also published an item on the website of the local branch of the National Union of Teachers in which he suggested that those who ran the school failed to provide proper training and supervision for newly qualified teachers. The allegations were completely untrue and unfounded. N accepted that the allegations were based on false information and apologised publicly to the claimants. He agreed to pay them damages along with legal costs. Permission to withdraw the record was requested.

Statement issued in open court

Judgment: Approved – 3 pages

(1) MCLAUGHLIN (2) MARTIN (3) DAVIES v NEWALL (2010)

QBD (Tugendhat J) 15/4/2010