Anna Turley libel lawyer bill to be paid by union and blogger

A former Labour MP who won a libel claim against a union and a blogger will get back more than £1m she paid out in legal fees.

Anna Turley, who lost her Redcar seat in December 2019, sued Unite and Stephen Walker over an article on his Skwawkbox blog published in 2017.

She was later awarded a £75,000 damages payout after a High Court trial.

A hearing relating to legal costs ruled that Ms Turley was entitled to have her £1.3m lawyers' bill paid by the losers.

Judge Andrew Gordon-Saker was told Ms Turley had initially claimed about £2m in costs.

However, she subsequently agreed that Unite and Mr Walker should pay the smaller amount.

A Unite spokesman said after the hearing that the union and Mr Walker would be "jointly liable for the legal costs".

The article on Mr Walker's blog, which contained a statement from Unite, was found to have libelled Ms Turley by suggesting she acted dishonestly when submitting an application to join the union.

She also said Unite had misused her private information.

Unite bosses and Mr Walker fought the case and claimed Ms Turley was not fit to be an MP.

At the High Court in London, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled in the former MP's favour on December 19 2019 - six days after she lost her seat.

Ms Turley said launching the action had given her no pleasure, but she had no choice.

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