Libel Damages For 'Punched' Ulster Rugby Fan As Dublin Journalist Also Wins Case

An Ulster rugby fan who was seen on TV being attacked by ex-Irish international Trevor Brennan - who ran off the field to punch him - has been awarded damages for libel at the High Court in Belfast.

Patrick Bamford, 26, sued the Guardian newspaper over its reporting of the incident at the match between Toulouse and Ulster last January.

The paper also published an apology which stated that Mr Bamford was an innocent spectator.

Mr Bamford's solicitor said his client had been "totally vindicated".

"He was a totally innocent victim of an unprovoked assault," he added.

Meanwhile, a Dublin journalist has been found to have been defamed too - this time by the police.

Journalists are usually the party most likely to be in fear of being accused of either libel or defamation, but this time it was the other way round with the police, in the form of a Garda magazine that was found to be the culprit.

RTE's crime correspondent Paul Reynolds has been awarded €60,000 in damages at the Circuit Civil Court, which found that he was seriously defamed by an editorial in the Garda Review six years ago.

Mr Justice Matthew Deery found that the article printed in September 2001, written by PJ Stone, depicted Mr Reynolds as a person who did not understand the requirements of due process or the presumption of innocence.

The action arises out of a report by Mr Reynolds on the detention of a Garda in Tenerife in connection with a rape.

The editorial set out that the report amounted to irresponsible journalism and was used to portray the Gardai in an unfavourable light.

The judge said he was satisfied the editorial contained serious defamatory matter concerning Mr Reynolds and added that the appropriate sum in damages would be €60,000.

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(BMcC)