'People' apologises for Chegwin bribe claims
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The television entertainer Keith Chegwin accepted a public apology yesterday over a tabloid newspaper claim that he hatched a plot to bribe a police officer. Mr Chegwin brought libel proceedings in the High Court againstThe People about an article published in January.
The front-page piece said Mr Chegwin plotted to access a police database to obtain confidential details of cars once owned by celebrities for a pilot programme called Stars and their Cars. Mr Chegwin's solicitor David Price said Mr Chegwin was appalled by the "outrageous" allegations. He said Neil Wallis, the former editor of The People, and the newspaper's publishers, MGN, accepted that Mr Chegwin had not tried to break the law.
The court was told that Mr Chegwin's agent approached a detective agency for help in researching the programme. A reporter, acting on behalf of The People and posing as a detective, contacted Mr Chegwin on a number of occasions. Mr Price said: "Mr Chegwin, who never had any intention of bribing anyone, refused to allow money to be offered to an officer to access the [database]." A spokesman for The People said: "They accept that these allegations are false."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments