Clifford pays six-figure sum to Hamiltons in libel case
Max Clifford, the celebrity publicist, yesterday agreed to pay Neil and Christine Hamilton a six-figure sum in costs and damages over false rape allegations.
The disgraced former Tory MP and his wife sued the PR man for 25 counts of defamation over comments he made in August 2001 about their relationship with Nadine Milroy-Sloan. She had made a series of lurid, unfounded al legations of sexual assault against the Hamiltons in a series of newspaper articles and live on GMTV.
The Hamiltons sat alongside their solicitor, Howard Pinkerfield, as he told Mr Justice Eady that Mr Clifford, who was not in court, had agreed to pay undisclosed damages and the couple's legal costs.
His decision to settle came as Mr Clifford awaited a decision from the court of appeal over a ruling which knocked out much of his defence last year. Mr Clifford, in a state ment read out in court, said that following Milroy-Sloan's allegations, he subsequently made remarks "which could be taken to mean that the allegations were true.
"I acknowledge that my remarks could be interpreted in a way that is both highly offensive to Neil and Christine Hamilton and damaging to their reputations," added Mr Clifford.
Mr Hamilton said: "It is a total, abject apology. He has eaten humble pie by withdrawing all the allegations completely and paying a very large sum of money; there were plenty of noughts on the end." He insisted that the suggestion that the settlement would total £100,000 was a "wild underestimate".
The couple said they planned to spend the money on paying lawyers' fees and settling outstanding debts. They will now turn their attention to promoting Mrs Hamilton's autobiography - For Better, For Worse - which is released next month.
Mr Clifford remained unre pentant. "This was based on an interpretation of what I said, not what I actually meant," he said. "I won't be paying them in brown envelopes."
The publicist added that he would not change his approach: "I never ask to do interviews but over the last 20 to 30 years people in the media know I will help them where I can. I can't complain about how that's helped my career."
Yesterday's settlement was the final twist in a surreal saga that began in May 2001 when Milroy-Sloan contacted Mr Clif ford and claimed she had been raped and sexually assaulted by the couple. They were arrested by police, accompanied by TV presenter Louis Theroux, who was making a documentary about them.
All charges against the pair were dropped and Milroy-Sloan, a mother of four from Grimsby, was jailed for three years in June 2003 for perverting the course of justice, after being denounced by the judge as a "cunning" fantasist.
The disgraced former Tory MP and his wife sued the PR man for 25 counts of defamation over comments he made in August 2001 about their relationship with Nadine Milroy-Sloan. She had made a series of lurid, unfounded al legations of sexual assault against the Hamiltons in a series of newspaper articles and live on GMTV.
The Hamiltons sat alongside their solicitor, Howard Pinkerfield, as he told Mr Justice Eady that Mr Clifford, who was not in court, had agreed to pay undisclosed damages and the couple's legal costs.
His decision to settle came as Mr Clifford awaited a decision from the court of appeal over a ruling which knocked out much of his defence last year. Mr Clifford, in a state ment read out in court, said that following Milroy-Sloan's allegations, he subsequently made remarks "which could be taken to mean that the allegations were true.
"I acknowledge that my remarks could be interpreted in a way that is both highly offensive to Neil and Christine Hamilton and damaging to their reputations," added Mr Clifford.
Mr Hamilton said: "It is a total, abject apology. He has eaten humble pie by withdrawing all the allegations completely and paying a very large sum of money; there were plenty of noughts on the end." He insisted that the suggestion that the settlement would total £100,000 was a "wild underestimate".
The couple said they planned to spend the money on paying lawyers' fees and settling outstanding debts. They will now turn their attention to promoting Mrs Hamilton's autobiography - For Better, For Worse - which is released next month.
Mr Clifford remained unre pentant. "This was based on an interpretation of what I said, not what I actually meant," he said. "I won't be paying them in brown envelopes."
The publicist added that he would not change his approach: "I never ask to do interviews but over the last 20 to 30 years people in the media know I will help them where I can. I can't complain about how that's helped my career."
Yesterday's settlement was the final twist in a surreal saga that began in May 2001 when Milroy-Sloan contacted Mr Clif ford and claimed she had been raped and sexually assaulted by the couple. They were arrested by police, accompanied by TV presenter Louis Theroux, who was making a documentary about them.
All charges against the pair were dropped and Milroy-Sloan, a mother of four from Grimsby, was jailed for three years in June 2003 for perverting the course of justice, after being denounced by the judge as a "cunning" fantasist.
