A GB News presenter and a social media commentator have apologised and will pay damages to a Leeds City councillor after wrongly suggesting he participated in a riot in Harehills.
Mothin Ali, a councillor on Leeds City Council for Gipton and Harehills, attended the riots in 2024 to assist police and appeal for calm but posts on social media accused him of taking part in the rioting, the High Court heard on Friday.
Ali sued GB News presenter Alex Armstrong and social media commentator Bernadette Spofforth for defamation over posts on X, formerly Twitter, but they have now apologised and have agreed to pay "substantial damages".
Ms Spofforth rose to prominence after being arrested for sharing a fake name and false information about the perpetrator of the Southport knife attack online but did not face any charges.
The riots in Harehills, Leeds, involved widespread disorder and violent confrontations between local residents and police officers.
Appearing at the High Court in London on Friday 16 October, Samantha Thompson, representing Mr Armstrong and Ms Spofforth, said the pair "apologise to the claimant for the serious harm to his reputation and his distress".
The court heard Mr Armstrong published two posts viewed more than 3.1 million times while Ms Spofforth’s post was viewed 216,000 times.
Mr Armstrong’s second post suggested Mr Ali had sought to dishonestly distance himself from the rioting.
Reading a statement in court agreed between Mr Ali and Mr Armstrong, Axel...
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