A Caerphilly county councillor has agreed to pay £3,000 over a false Twitter claim that a rival had been ejected by police from a polling station.
Plaid Cymru councillor Colin Elsbury, who represents the St Martins ward, libelled town councillor Eddie Talbot with a tweet on June 4, 2009.
A judge, sitting at Cardiff Civil Law Centre approved the defamation settlement with Cllr Elsbury agreeing to pay £3,000 damages. Mr Talbot’s legal fees are estimated to be around £50,000 and will be subject to adjudication.
Nigel Jones of JMD Law, who represented hobby shop owner Mr Talbot, said the tweet implied his client was removed by police for criminal or disreputable conduct.
Cllr Elsbury was represented by solicitor Hugh Roffe, who told the court it had been a case of mistaken identity – something acknowledged by Cllr Elsbury on Twitter on June 12, 2009.
After the case, Cllr Elsbury, who was unable to attend the court hearing because his wife is in hospital, said: “This was a genuine case of mistaken identity which I have acknowledged.
“I agreed to pay compensation and had offered to settle by making a substantial donation to charity or a good cause. However, this was not accepted. The issue of costs will now be the subject of independent adjudication.
“This case will no doubt act as a warning to people, including politicians, to be extremely careful when using Twitter and other social media such as blogs.”
My God,£53,000 thats a huge amount of money.This councillor was wrong but has at least had the decency to apologise.
This is the first I have heard of this row and I have lived in the town for 37 years.Its not really a major talking point.I have asked friends and neighbours,they know nothing about this and all think that its way too much money to pay for one silly mistake.
Dont most politicians normally pay damages to a charity?
The world has gone mad.
This article is unfair, incorrect and misleading,
No-one, so far as I can understand is being sued for £53.000.
I think it is the order of the High Court that `costs` are paid in the action against this councillor, by this councillor, who lost the action, this is normal legal practice and nothing unusual, the looser pays.
Such cost are minimised by the protaganists sorting the issues out at the earliest possible time, and are increased by defending the indefencable.
And no, politicains do not normally pay damages to charity, they dont normally have to pay damages at all, unless they act in an illegal way!!!