Vigilante victim to sue 'News of the World'
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Your support makes all the difference.A man of 55 with two children, mistaken for a paedophile in the News of the World name-and-shame campaign, is to sue the newspaper.
A man of 55 with two children, mistaken for a paedophile in the News of the World name-and-shame campaign, is to sue the newspaper.
Michael Horgan, an engineer from South London, has instructed defamation specialist Peter Carter-Ruck to bring an estimated £100,000 claim against the tabloid Sunday paper.
Last week, the Independent on Sunday pointed out that the innocent victims of the campaign have a strong claim for damages. Two other victims of vigilante attacks are also considering legal action.
Mr Horgan, who lives with a round-the-clock police guard, was targeted by an anti-paedophile group after the News of the World published his name, which he shares with a paedophile who also lives in the area. His name, phone number and address subsequently appeared on an incorrect list of paedophiles circulated in south London.
Though he was able to convince some of his neighbours it was a case of mistaken identity he said he was "terrified" by the risk to his family.
The police have a permanent guard on his house and all phone calls to his home have been diverted. Cameron Doley, a partner at Peter Carter-Ruck & Partners, which will take the case on a "no win, no fee" basis, said the paper had refused to publish any clarification.
"We took the action before the paper withdrew its campaign," he said. "The paper has written back claiming it has done nothing wrong. But that is no consolation to my client. There can't be anything much worse than being described as a paedophile."
Mr Doley said the News of the World picture with Mr Horgan's name was too indistinct to make it clear to readers that his client was not the paedophile. "It was simply a picture of a white middle-aged man with glasses," he added.
The News of the World began its controversial campaign after the death of Sarah Payne, the eight-year-old murdered last month in Sussex.
After the newspaper published the names of what they said were convicted sex offenders, vigilante attacks spread across the country, and led to four nights of rioting in the Paulsgrove estate, in the northern suburbs of Portsmouth. Several innocent families were driven out
Sarah's killer has not yet been found but detectives say they are confident the case will be solved soon.
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