A BBC journalist has launched legal action against the Labour party over comments made about him in the wake of a Panorama investigation in allegations of antisemitism in the party last year.
According to the Guardian , John Ware is claiming that the party defamed him in a comment they made after the broadcast.
It that claimed that the BBC had engaged in “deliberate and malicious representations designed to mislead the public”.
In a statement after the airing of the programme, Labour said: “The Panorama programme and the BBC have engaged in deliberate and malicious representations designed to mislead the public.”
Mr Ware’s claim is understood to allege that the Labour party libelled a respected journalist for suggesting he deliberately set out to make a biased programme.
The Labour party declined to comment to the Guardian as it is an “ongoing legal matter”.
(Image: Chris J Ratcliffe)
Mr Ware’s solicitor, Mark Lewis of Patron Law, told the Guardian: “It would not be appropriate to comment at this stage.”
It comes after boadcasting regulator Ofcom dismissed 28 complaints against the BBC Panorama investigation into anti-Semitism.
The programme saw former staff members claim the party had failed to adequately deal with anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
Jeremy Corbyn’s office launched a protest with the BBC, but the corporation cleared the programme of any breach of editorial guidelines.
Separately 28 people complained to Ofcom – who have now decided there is is no ground of pursuing any allegation of bias against the programme-makers.
A spokesman for Ofcom said: “We assessed complaints from viewers who felt that this programme was factually inaccurate and biased.
“In our view, the programme was duly impartial.
“As well as highly critical personal testimonies, it included the Labour Party’s response prominently throughout, including in an interview with the Shadow Communities Secretary.”
