Beyond the ordinary
This is where our journey begins. Get to know our business and what we do, and how we're committed to quality and great service. Join us as we grow and succeed together. We're glad you're here to be a part of our story.
Noel Clarke loses libel case against the Guardian
Actor Noel Clarke has lost his libel case against the Guardian, after he sued the newspaper's publisher for printing allegations of sexual misconduct.
The Doctor Who and Kidulthood star took Guardian News and Media (GNM) to court after the paper ran a series of stories in 2021 claiming he had used his power in the film and TV industry to prey upon and harass women.
On Friday, the judge dismissed Clarke's libel claim and said the Guardian had succeeded in defending its stories on the grounds of truth and public interest.
The Guardian's editor welcomed the decision, describing it as "a deserved victory for those women who suffered" and a "landmark for investigative journalism".
Clarke described the judgement as "disappointing", adding: "I have never claimed to be perfect. But I am not the person described in these articles."
The judgement found the meaning of each of the newspaper's articles was "substantially true".
Mrs Justice Steyn added: "I have accepted some of Mr Clarke's evidence... but overall I find that he was not a credible or reliable witness."
During a High Court defamation trial earlier this year, Clarke's legal team said accusations that he was a "serial abuser of women" were false, and argued he was the victim of an "unlawful conspiracy".
Prince Harry sued by Sentebale charity for defamation
Prince Harry is being sued for defamation by the Sentebale charity he co-founded, according to High Court records. Online court filings show that the Duke of Sussex is a defendant in a libel or slander claim alongside Mark Dyer, a former trustee. Sentebale launched a defamation action against Prince Harry over what the charity said was a "co-ordinated adverse media campaign” which caused "operational disruption and reputational harm", its board of trustees saido documents are currently available in the claim originally filed on March 24.In a statement, its board of trustees and executive director said: "Sentebale has commenced legal proceedings in the High Court of England and Wales."The charity seeks the court’s intervention, protection and restitution following a co-ordinated adverse media campaign conducted since March 25, 2025 that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership and its strategic partners.
Alex Jones asks US Supreme Court to block billion-dollar defamation ruling
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has asked the US Supreme Court to put on pause the nearly $1.5bn (£1.1bn) defamation judgment against him that is forcing the sale of his Infowars media company.
Jones was ordered to make the payout in 2022 for claiming the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax.
He has asked the high court to prevent Infowars from being sold to the satirical news site The Onion in order to fund judgment against him, arguing that it will cause irreparable harm to him and his audience of 30 million.
The sale to The Onion, backed by the families of victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting, was rejected last year after a bankruptcy auction.
Jones is asking the justices to put the judgment on hold while deciding on an appeal he has filed. The court is expected to consider his application on Friday in private.
Attorneys for Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, characterized him as a media defendant in their court filing on Thursday.
They argued that Jones, who founded the platform in 1999, should enjoy the same free speech protections under the First Amendment of the Constitution that journalists have, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.
They also said the record-breaking payout and the shuttering of his platform would have a "chilling effect" on similar media figures.
Vincentian coupled jailed in the UK
Xyaire Howard, the 27-year-old Edinboro man who killed Susan Hawkey, a 71-year-old United Kingdom (UK) pensioner and stole £13,000 of her money has been sentenced to life in prison.
Howard’s girlfriend, Chelsea Grant, also a Vincentian from Edinboro, has been sentenced to 15 years for her role in the crime that shock Vincentians and UK residents alike.
However, UK law may see the duo serve only half of their sentences as in England and Wales, a one-year prison sentence amounts to six months while the average person who is sentenced to life serves around 15 to 20 years before being paroled.
However, those convicted of exceptionally grave crimes remain behind bars for considerably longer.
Back in October, Howard was found guilty of Hawkey’s murder while Grant was found guilty of three counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery of Hawkey but not murder.
They were convicted by a court in the UK and video footage of the duo using Hawkey’s debit card at several stores was released to the chagrin of the public.
Also in October, Howard had pleaded guilty to one of the robberies and admitted in court that he tied Hawkey’s hands to extract her PIN but maintained she was alive when he left her home.
The victim’s body was found with her hands taped and tied behind her back, her eyes taped shut and a ligature knotted around her neck.
Grant, and Howard, 22, were charged after the badly decomposing body of the pensioner was discovered in her Neasden, north-west London home bound and gagged. The Vincentian couple lived nearby having migrated to the UK sometime before the murder took place.
The Court also heard that the woman, described as ‘highly vulnerable’, was stripped and murdered in her own home and her life savings diminished from a balance of more than £16,000 to just £3,434.03.
Grant and Howard then went on a £13,000 shopping spree that saw them complete 146 transactions. Both Grant and Howard sent money to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).
Hawley was first robbed on July 27, 2022, and then again on August 22, 2022, when her bag was ripped from her shoulder with enough force to knock her to the ground.
Howard admitted to a charge in relation to robbing the elderly woman on August 22, 2022, while both Vincentians had pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation in relation to their misuse of Hawkey’s bank card.
Other details of the crime read that Hawkey was partially stripped, including the removal of her underwear. She was blindfolded and tied and a ligature placed around her neck.
“For some reason, all of her lower clothing, including underwear, had been removed and her upper clothing had been cut down the front. An item of clothing had been placed over her head and her body concealed under a duvet.
Men jailed for using Christian group to smuggle drugs
Two men have been jailed for their role in using a Christian organization as cover to import 400kg (881lbs) of cannabis into the UK from Jamaica.
Via Birmingham Airport, they had three loads of the drug sent over in tins of fruit and vegetables, a court heard.
All three batches dispatched in 2017 were addressed to the same religious group in the city.
Dalton Anderson, 51, and Alvin Russell, 46, have been sentenced to nine and five years in prison respectively.
A third man, Sinclair Tucker, 65, was handed a two-year sentence suspended for 18 months.
Ahead of sentencing at Derby Crown Court on Monday, all three were found guilty last year of fraudulently evading the prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug, with Anderson also found guilty of possession with intent to supply cannabis after five kilos were found at his home. The men used the address of Birmingham-based Vision Christian Ministries (VCM) on the shipments, with the consignments having a street value of about £2m, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
"This crime group cynically used a religious organisation to conceal their multi million-pound drugs conspiracy," said NCA operations manager Rick Mackenzie.
Paul Harper, from Border Force Central Region, added: "This seizure and others demonstrates the despicable lengths criminals will go to, exploiting a religion to line their own pockets, which will only cause harm to our communities."