Coronation Street star Qasim Akhtar has won "substantial" damages following false allegations published in The Sun. The Zeedan Nazir actor had sued News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of the tabloid, following an article published last November.
The piece falsely claimed that he had moved to Pakistan to undertake firearms training, wrongly linking him to extremism.
The claim has now been settled in the High Court, with Akhtar's lawyer Daniel Taylor saying that NGN had agreed that the article had harmed the actor's reputation and caused "great distress", as well as affecting his family life and business, with his work on hold while the matter was settled.
He also noted the libel was made worse by the fact that NGN had not sought Akhtar's comment before the article was published.
Taylor confirmed today that NGN had agreed to pay "substantial damages" alongside legal costs.
The Sun published an apology in May, accepting the claims were "entirely false", and that Akhtar had never supported or endorsed extremist views or moved to Pakistan to undertake firearms training.
NGN representative Andrew Wheelhouse told the court that the piece "should never have been published" and that they would never repeat the false allegations.
In an Instagram post last month, Akhtar said the previous six months "have been very tough to say the least".
"An article was published about me with false allegations that deeply affected me, my reputation, my family, my safety and my peace of...
Coronation Street star Qasim Akhtar has won "substantial" damages following false allegations published in The Sun. The Zeedan Nazir actor had sued News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of th...