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dpa
London
The leader and deputy leader of the far-right organisation Britain First have agreed to pay “substantial damages” to settle a libel claim after they falsely claimed the Halal Food Authority and two employees were involved in funding terrorism.
Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen made the false claims against the authority, which inspects food and drink to ensure compliance with Halal principles and practices, in two videos which were published to a large number of their followers on various social media platforms in February 2017.
They made similar “wholly untrue and defamatory” allegations about Salahudeen Kara, a former auditor and technical manager for the HFA, and Tanveer Parkar, who was the head of market development and customer relations.
Both men and the HFA sued Golding and Fransen for libel and breach of the Data Protection Act, and the case was settled after the Britain First leaders agreed to pay damages.
Ben Gallop, representing the HFA, Kara and Parkar, told Justice Nicklin during a brief hearing at the high court in London on Monday that the videos, which have since been removed from websites, alleged involvement in the clandestine funding of Islamic terrorist organisations such as so-called Islamic State.
He said: “This caused real distress for Kara and Parkar, both of whom feared for their safety as a result of the publication of the videos to a very substantial number of the defendants’ followers.
“This incident had a detrimental impact on their personal lives and their integrity was questioned by family and members of the wider community.” The barrister said Golding and Fransen offered no defence to the claim, but agreed to pay an undisclosed sum and not to repeat their false allegations.
He added: “There was never any basis for the defendants’ allegations, and their unequivocal capitulation in the face of the claimants’ claim puts that beyond doubt.
“Kara and Parkar have been vindicated and have achieved all of their objectives in bringing the claim.” Britain First was a political party from 2010 until it was de-registered by the Electoral Commission in 2017.
Golding, 39, was convicted of an offence under the Terrorism Act after he refused to give pin codes for an iPhone and Apple computer to police officers when he was stopped at Heathrow Airport on his way back from Moscow in October 2019.
London
The leader and deputy leader of the far-right organisation Britain First have agreed to pay “substantial damages” to settle a libel claim after they falsely claimed the Halal Food Authority and two employees were involved in funding terrorism.
Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen made the false claims against the authority, which inspects food and drink to ensure compliance with Halal principles and practices, in two videos which were published to a large number of their followers on various social media platforms in February 2017.
They made similar “wholly untrue and defamatory” allegations about Salahudeen Kara, a former auditor and technical manager for the HFA, and Tanveer Parkar, who was the head of market development and customer relations.
Both men and the HFA sued Golding and Fransen for libel and breach of the Data Protection Act, and the case was settled after the Britain First leaders agreed to pay damages.
Ben Gallop, representing the HFA, Kara and Parkar, told Justice Nicklin during a brief hearing at the high court in London on Monday that the videos, which have since been removed from websites, alleged involvement in the clandestine funding of Islamic terrorist organisations such as so-called Islamic State.
He said: “This caused real distress for Kara and Parkar, both of whom feared for their safety as a result of the publication of the videos to a very substantial number of the defendants’ followers.
“This incident had a detrimental impact on their personal lives and their integrity was questioned by family and members of the wider community.” The barrister said Golding and Fransen offered no defence to the claim, but agreed to pay an undisclosed sum and not to repeat their false allegations.
He added: “There was never any basis for the defendants’ allegations, and their unequivocal capitulation in the face of the claimants’ claim puts that beyond doubt.
“Kara and Parkar have been vindicated and have achieved all of their objectives in bringing the claim.” Britain First was a political party from 2010 until it was de-registered by the Electoral Commission in 2017.
Golding, 39, was convicted of an offence under the Terrorism Act after he refused to give pin codes for an iPhone and Apple computer to police officers when he was stopped at Heathrow Airport on his way back from Moscow in October 2019.
