Former Guardian journalist has had a long-overdue taste of real justice.
Former Guardian ‘journalist’ David Hencke, who was ‘Head of News’ at ill-fated Exaro News before it collapsed, has agreed to a settlement order in John Hemming’s claim against him on humiliating terms. Although he has made no admission of liability the terms of settlement require him to make a public statement, pay a donation to the charity Victim Support in lieu of damages and agree to significant restrictions on his reporting. The case proves that anyone who describes historic rape complainant Esther Baker as a ‘victim’ or ‘survivor’ is at risk of being sued for libel and losing. Indeed Hencke has now agreed to restrictions on his use of those words.
Exaro news has a lot to answer for. During its brief period of prominence Exaro extensively covered and promoted a series of child abuse allegations, many of which have been investigated at vast public expense. Now, their star accuser Carl Beech is on trial himself for fraud and perverting the the course of justice (archive).
David Hencke’s article of 18 May 2018 was utterly despicable. The article covered another Exaro complainant, Esther Baker, whose unsubstantiated allegations of abuse by a number of VIPs have led to no convictions whatsoever. In the article, Hencke named former MP John Hemming and referred to Baker’s father. He used the word ‘survivor’ even though the Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) he was reporting on has specifically decided not to use that word in relation to people like Esther Baker whose allegations are not proven. That got him sued for libel in the High Court.
