Rachel Riley awarded £50,000 after Countdown presenter branded an 'abuser' by blogger

express.co.uk:

Rachel Riley, 36, has been awarded £50,000 in damages after winning a libel claim against Mike Sivier over an article claiming the Countdown star was a "serial abuser".The Channel 4 star sued the political blogger after he published an article in January 2019.The individual published an article on his website Vox Political in January 2019 with the headline: "Serial abuser Rachel Riley to receive 'extra protection - on grounds that she is receiving abuse."The blogger had originally defended the libel claim on the grounds of truth and honest opinion as well as public interest.His article discussed tweets as part of an online debate on antisemitism in the Labour party, including ones written by the Countdown star herself, during an exchange with a 16-year-old called Rose, with the messages dated between December 2018 and January 2019.A judge had previously found that Sivier's article would be read as claiming Rachel "engaged upon, supported and encouraged a campaign of online abuse and harassment of a 16-year-old girl", allegations vehemently denied by the Countdown star.Sivier defended the libel claim arguing he had "reasonable belief" it was in the public interest to publish the accusations in the article.In a judgement delivered today, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in favour of Rachel, granting her £50,000 in damages as well as an injunction requiring Sivier to remove the article and never repeat the accusations.During the trial in July, Rachel said the amount of abuse she received online increased significantly from January 2019, saying it was "horrendous".In January 2021, Mrs Justice Collins Rice struck out all three of Mr Sivier’s defences, finding that they had "no prospect" of succeeding.However, Mr Sivier won a challenge.