Noel Clarke’s lawyers threatened accuser with prosecution, court told
Noel Clarke’s lawyers sent a letter to a woman accusing him of sexual misconduct, threatening her with prosecution in an attempt at “witness intimidation”, the high court has heard.The 49-year-old actor, who is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) for libel over seven articles and a podcast published between April 2021 and March 2022, was on Tuesday, confronted with more allegations made against him by women.On his second day of being cross-examined in the witness box, Clarke was asked about a letter sent to Imogen*, an actor who is due to give evidence that she was “harassed and preyed on” by the writer-director of the Kidulthood trilogy at a dinner.Gavin Millar KC, acting for the Guardian, said the letter sent by solicitors firm the Khan Partnership on behalf of Clarke, on 5 November 2024, four days after a hearing in the case had taken place, stated that Imogen had been circulating allegations about the former Doctor Who star and that they were “grounds for legal action and criminal investigation”.He continued: “You were trying to deter her from giving evidence on our [the Guardian’s] side weren’t you? … The truth is that this letter is a straightforward attempt at witness intimidation.
”Clarke denied any attempt to deter Imogen from giving evidence, telling the court he did not know she was a witness as at the time he did not have a list of witnesses for the case.He said the letter was an attempt to get Imogen to be a witness for him at trial, that he did not intend to threaten prosecution and had expressed concerns that the letter was “a little harsh”.Philip Williams, appearing for Clarke, told the court that the Solicitors Regulation Authority, had looked into the letter but decided to take no action.The court heard that Clarke met for dinner with Imogen at Soho House, in central London, in 2014 when she was 19 and hoping to advance her career, a fact Clarke “capitalised on”.Millar claimed that, at the dinner, Clarke:Asked Imogen if she liked oral sex and said she would like it with him.
Told her he had wanted to “fuck her” since the moment they met.Suggested they go to his flat for sex and film it.Told her he was “hard” and so needed to go to the bathroom “but not to use the toilet”.Clarke denied saying any of those things and claimed Imogen had flirted with him.He initially denied propositioning Imogen but later Millar showed him evidence that he had told an associate he had done so.
Clarke corrected his earlier statement but said he only did it in response to her advances.“She was flirting first by taking my glasses and saying she wanted to be my secretary,” said Clarke.“I said: ‘Do you want to be more than my secretary?’”The court heard that the day after the dinner Imogen wrote on the social media site Tumblr about Clarke’s behaviour.Asked by Millar why she would make up such things, Clarke said she was “a writer”, adding: “On my kids, that is not what happened at our dinner, and she is a fantasist because that is what she does.She is into women’s rights, which I do not knock, I used to be as well.
”Clarke also said that Imogen had been “annoyed” when told that a scene she was in had been cut from one of his films.But Millar said the scene involved just three lines and so “didn’t make a lot of difference to her career”.He told Clarke: “You’re just making up this stuff about her clearly being very upset … Actors and actors audition for lots of parts they don’t get … That’s not a reason to lie to the high court.”Speaking generally about the allegations made against him, including by more than 20 women in the Guardian articles, Clarke said they were either “untrue or embellished” and accused the Guardian of “agenda journalism”.He said: “If someone made a comment about you 20 years ago it doesn’t mean you have to go to a national newspaper and destroy their life.
”His evidence will continue on Wednesday.*Name changed for legal reasons.
Ex-Barclays boss claims his marriage is at risk after admitting in court to sex with Epstein employee
The former bank boss Jes Staley has claimed his honesty in court has “put my marriage at risk” after his lawyer complained that forcing him to disclose he had sex with a member of Jeffrey Epstein’s staff had resulted in “public humiliation”.The ex-Barclays chief executive capped off three and a half days of cross-examination by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) by suggesting his willingness to endure scrutiny showed he had no interest in misleading the regulator, which alleges he lied about the depth of his relationship with Epstein.Staley is trying to overturn the FCA’s 2023 ruling that led to a lifetime ban from the City and the loss of £18m in pay and bonuses from Barclays.Speaking at the Upper Tribunal in London on Thursday, he said: “On my own costs, I crossed the Atlantic to be in the tribunal to be open and honest. I could have stayed at home
UK food and drink exports to the EU down 34% since Brexit
British food and drink exports to the EU have tumbled by more than a third since Brexit, according to new trade body figures highlighting how bureaucratic barriers have changed the relationship between the UK and its most important trading partner.Products including whisky, chocolate and cheese remain popular with EU customers but overall food export volumes to the bloc fell to 6.37bn kg in 2024, representing a 34% decline compared with 2019 levels, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) found.While some of the fall in exports since the UK left the union in January 2020 can be attributed to global events including the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the FDF’s latest trade snapshot reveals other European countries including the Netherlands, Germany and Italy have increased their export volumes since 2020. The trade body has blamed post-Brexit trading arrangements for the slump in UK exports
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The Guardian has published quite a lot of articles recently expressing some concern over the use of smartphones. Emma Beddington’s piece (My phone knows what I want before I do. That should be worrying – but it’s oddly comforting, 10 March) is perhaps the most alarming to date, mitigated to only some degree by her self-awareness. But help is at hand.There is a simple way in which we can set ourselves free
Crypto reaps political rewards after spending big to boost Trump
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. In this week’s edition, the crypto industry’s political investments pay off in spades, the left attempts to reclaim an optimistic view of our shiny technological future, and your memories of Skype.The US president hosted prominent crypto leaders at the White House on Friday in what seemed like a choreographed climax to weeks of handing the industry win after win.The day before, Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a “strategic reserve” of cryptocurrency for the US, which he called “digital Fort Knox for digital gold to be stored”. It’s just one of several recent announcements that indicated a new and friendly posture toward the industry
NBC Universal agrees to $3bn extension to broadcast Olympics in US
NBC Universal has unveiled a $3bn extension of its Olympics deal, ensuring the Summer and Winter Games remain on NBC and its Peacock streaming service in the US until 2036.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Comcast, the telecoms conglomerate which owns NBC, announced their latest lucrative partnership – the biggest single biggest source of revenue for the IOC – on Thursday.As a result, the US network will continue to broadcast the Olympics beyond the 2032 Games in Brisbane, when its previous deal was set to conclude. LA will host the Olympics in 2028.The deal means the 2034 Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City, and the 2036 Summer Olympics, the host city of which has yet to be selected, will air on NBC in the US
Wales will combine ‘heart and brain’ as Sherratt aims to sign off with a win
Wales are aiming to surprise England with a combination of “heart and brain” when the two teams meet in Cardiff on Saturday. The caretaker Wales coach, Matt Sherratt, in his final game in charge, believes his team can upset the odds and avoid a 17th successive Test defeat and a second consecutive tournament whitewash.Sherratt has already helped improve squad morale after the abrupt mid-season departure of Warren Gatland and would love to conclude the campaign with a win to reward the hard work of all involved in the Welsh setup. “If that win comes it would give everyone a massive lift, especially against England at home,” said Sherratt, who will revert to his existing job with Cardiff next week.“I would love to sign off [with a win], not for me but for the players and staff who have been here for a long time
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