After winning damages and an apology from the Daily Mirror, an apology from the Guardian, a reverse ferret from Emily Maitlis, no further action from the Metropolitan Police, quitting GB News and being sacked by the Daily Mail there was still an outstanding investigation by Ofcom.
Ofcom has just released a short statement: “We discontinued a fairness and privacy complaint about this programme. In line with our published procedures given the nature of fairness and privacy cases, we will not be commenting further.” After putting Dan Wootton through the wringer, that’s it.
Guido can reveal that following on from the Guardian’s apology, Dan Wootton has now also won an apology plus substantial damages from the Daily Mirror after they reprinted the subsequently discredited Byline Times allegations about him. The official Mirror apology reads:
An article headlined “Met Police launches probe into ‘Dan Wootton sex offences’ allegations” was published on our website on 2 October 2023 and removed later that day following a complaint from Dan Wootton. Last week, the Metropolitan police and Police Scotland said that they had concluded their investigations and are taking no further action. We accept that we were wrong to have published the article and apologise unreservedly to Mr Wootton for any upset the article may have caused. Mr Wootton has restated that the police inquiries have exonerated him of any criminal wrongdoing.
Mirror Group Newspapers are also paying substantial five-figure damages to Wootton. This means the country’s two biggest left-wing newspapers have apologised for following up the shoddy reporting of Byline Times. Byline Times are currently busy taking on JK Rowling and have yet to concede to Dan. Either Dan or JK could likely bankrupt the rag…
Dan Wootton says…
“I confirm today that I have left GB News to launch my own independent platform www.danwoottonoutspoken.com which will feature a brand new daily news and opinion show from later this year that will not be regulated by the Ofcommunist censors.
However, yesterday’s chilling Ofcom report clearly raises far bigger issues. How can any British broadcaster truly stand for freedom of expression when state goons have the power to decide what you are and are not allowed to say on air? Unlike the freedoms enjoyed in the US thanks to the First Amendment, how can these media outlets ever be anything other than controlled opposition?
As the epitome of the deep state Liz Truss spoke about last week, the Ofcommunists have once again shown themselves to be a muzzle that bows to the woke mob and only attacks those with whom it ideologically disagrees. Post Office investigators, HMRC, the Police: the country is full of organisations that have gone rogue and disobey the directives of ministers and the will of Parliament.
It’s not broadcasters who should be fearful of a carpeting from Ofcom: it’s Ofcom that should be summoned in by this supposedly Conservative government to be reined in.”
Another dish of humble pie is being served to The Guardian today. Last year, despite the Supreme Court’s clear ruling in ZXC v Bloomberg that suspects shouldn’t be named until charged, Byline Times breached Dan Wootton’s privacy by revealing his identity. Only a few mainstream media outlets did the same. The Guardian was one that foolishly chose to do so.
Wootton’s lawyers were quick to contact the paper, and though the story was taken offline the next morning, it was too late for print. Since Guido’s report that Wootton has been cleared, The Guardian looks even sillier. And they’ve been forced to accept it themselves now too…
Last night, The Guardian issued a grovelling apology to Wootton, along with coughing up an undisclosed sum to him. The next question is whether or not Byline Times will too. The six or seven figure bill might encourage them to. If they choose to double down, it’ll spell the end of the outlet. And an end to its particularly paranoid form of conspiracy theorising masquerading as gutter journalism…
Read The Guardian’s full apology below:
Emily Maitlis and her outlet The News Agents were celebrating left-wing Hope Not Hate’s “exclusive” discovery of “conspiratorial” tweets from GB News owner Sir Paul Marshall yesterday. Marshall’s offending tweets have now been deleted…
It turns out Maitlis too has in fact been deleting conspiratorial tweets of her own lately. Something about pots and kettles comes to mind…
Maitlis has been lawyered by Wootton over the now-gone tweets. Letters are also being fired out to Byline Times for the original reporting and Carol Vorderman for her extensive tweeting at the time. Wootton’s going after everyone…
Dan Wootton’s lawyers have sent a letter to Byline Times, its editor Peter Jukes, and the journalists Dan Evans and Tom Latchem, informing them that Dan will be going after them for a ruinously large sum in damages and costs. Despite the contentious Supreme Court ruling in ZXC v Bloomberg setting the precedent that on privacy grounds those under investigation ought not to be named until charged, Byline Times maliciously chose to name Dan for political reasons (having themselves been the ethically dubious complainant to the Metropolitan Police in the first place).
Having ignored the established legal protections in place for those accused of criminal offences in an attempt to destroy Dan’s reputation, Byline, Jukes, Evans and Latchem now face the potential consequences, including financial and reputational ruin, that may await them. Guido’s advice is to cut your losses…
