The following is the official statement from the Independent Press Regulator IMPRESS:
An independent Impress arbitration has found in favour of publisher Dorset Eye (the respondent) after a claim of defamation was brought forward by Alex Bailey (the claimant).
The case relates to five articles published by Dorset Eye on local campaign group No To The Barge (of which Bailey was a founding member), set up in response to the decision to house asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm Barge in local waters.
Bailey said that the articles were likely to cause him serious reputational harm and that select parts were also untrue. Dorset Eye, however, used the defence that what they reported was in the public interest and said all publications were based on evidence.
On each of the five articles, the tribunal found in favour of Dorset Eye.
Clive Thorne, the independent arbitrator who adjudicated on the case, found Dorset Eye to have a public interest defence in relation to four articles and a defence of honest opinion in relation to one article.
You can read the full findings from the arbitration here.
All arbitration proceedings are carried out independently from Impress. Arbitrators are independently appointed by the Chartered Institute for Arbitrators (Ciarb), the leading non-profit body in the field of arbitration.’
Further press coverage:
Arbitrator rejects libel claim versus Dorset Eye over asylum coverage
