Tomorrow Carole Cadwalladr, the award-winning journalist who uncovered the Cambridge Analytica scandal, will be in court facing a defamation suit from Brexit-backing businessman Arron Banks. It’s the culmination of a legal battle that has dragged on for more than two years – and shows just how far the myth of the UK’s ‘free’ press lies from the reality of doing journalism in this country.
Banks is suing Cadwalladr because she said, in a 2019 TED talk and a subsequent tweet, that the Brexit donor had lied about his “covert” relationship with the Russian government. If she loses, Cadwalladr faces legal costs of up to £1m plus damages. Reporters Without Borders have called the case an “abusive” attempt to “silence public interest reporting”.
Whichever way the ruling goes, however, some chilling facts will remain true.
