NY Post Columnist Scores Libel Win Against The Observer Over ‘Violent Racist Attacks’ Smear
Conservative commentator Douglas Murray won a libel claim against the Guardian Media Group over an article in The Observer accusing him of “supporting violent racist attacks” against migrants during UK-wide anti-immigration protests last year.
In late summer 2024, a wave of anti-immigration protests and riots erupted across 27 UK cities, with demonstrators targeting mosques and asylum seeker housing. Police clashed with protesters, leading to 1,280 arrests and nearly 800 charges by the end of August.
The unrest followed the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance lesson in Southport in England committed by Axel Rudakubana. False claims that the suspect was an asylum seeker quickly spread online, inflaming tensions.
The UK government fast-tracked court cases, sentencing over 200 people within days in a bid to curb further violence. In January, Rudakubana was sentenced to a minimum term of 52 years in prison.
Murray, a columnist at the New York Post and an associate editor at The Spectator, was the subject of a column in The Observer — the Sunday edition of The Guardian — on August 11, 2024 by British writer Kenan Malik.
In it, Malik cited an old interview between Murray and former Deputy Australian Prime Minister John Anderson on the subject of Israel and Islam, quoting the comments made six months earlier and erroneously asserting that the remarks were in relation to the then ongoing unrest in the UK.
The Guardian corrected Malik’s article before it was published online and published a correction in The Observer’s print edition the following week.
After bringing a libel action against the newspaper, however, Murray successfully won his claim on Tuesday.
Writing on X following his court victory, he blasted the outlet for “lazy journalism”:
Today I won a major libel claim against Guardian Media / Observer (@guardian) for its lazy journalism. Last year the paper made very serious and false accusations against me, based on unchecked claims on social media.
He continued:
Nevertheless such baseless accusations have to be stopped before other careless ‘journalists’ take fake news from the internet and repeat such damaging allegations.
Representatives from Guardian Media Group read out a statement in court admitting the error and falsity of the allegations as well as agreeing to pay Murray both damages and legal costs.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to make clear that Murray prevailed over The Observer, not The Guardian.
