
BBC will not appeal against Adams' defamation case victory
Mr Adams took the BBC to court over a 2016 episode of its Spotlight programme, and an accompanying online story, which he said defamed him by alleging he sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson, in which he denies any involvement.
Last month, a jury at the High Court in Dublin found in his favour and awarded him 100,000 euros (£84,000) after determining that was the meaning of words included in the programme and article.
The BBC, which was found by the jury not to have acted in good faith nor in a fair and reasonable way, was also ordered to pay the former Sinn Fein leader's legal costs.
After the decision, the broadcaster's legal team was granted a stay in the payment of the full award as it took time to consider an appeal.
However, on Friday, the BBC confirmed it would not pursue an appeal.
A spokesperson said: 'We have given careful consideration to the jury's decision.
'We will not be appealing its verdict, bringing this matter to a conclusion.
'We remain committed to public interest journalism and to serving all BBC audiences.'
In a statement issued through the Sinn Fein press office on Friday, Mr Adams said: 'The decision not to appeal by the British Broadcasting Corporation has to be followed by a substantial reform of its internal journalistic processes and a recognition that it cannot continue to be a voice for the British state in Ireland.
'It must also become more accountable to the public.
'The Dublin Court found the BBC guilty of libel and rejected its claim that its journalism was fair and reasonable and in the public interest.
'The British Broadcasting Corporation is a public service provider. There is an onus on the BBC to ensure that in the future its ethics and journalism reflect the principles and values of a public broadcast service.
'As I have already said the damages will be donated to good causes.'

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Times
an hour ago
- Times
Families criticise Starmer and say hostages ‘will rot in Hamas dungeons'
Hostages held captive in Gaza will continue to 'rot in Hamas dungeons' under Sir Keir Starmer's plan to bring peace to the Middle East. Lawyers representing the relatives of British people who were held by Hamas and those who had been murdered said the prime minister's peace plan would harm the remaining hostages in Gaza. Adam Wagner KC and Adam Rose, acting for the seven British families of hostages in Gaza, said four of the families met with senior Foreign Office officials on Thursday evening. In a statement, they said that British recognition of a Palestinian state if Israel and Hamas failed to reach a ceasefire by September would 'disincentivise Hamas from agreeing a deal'. They asked: 'Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?'. They said the families had 'held out some hope that the policy could not be as they feared and that since the UK had chosen to impose conditions on recognition, those conditions would also be on Hamas, as otherwise they would essentially be rewarded for continuing to commit war crimes, including hostage taking and encouraged to continue that path'. But that 'it was clear from the meeting last night that the British government's policy will not help the hostages, and could even hurt them'. Wagner and Rose claimed the release or otherwise of hostages would 'play no part' in the decision ministers will make in September and added: 'In other words, the 'vision for peace', which the UK is pursuing and which the families heard much about last night, may well involve our clients' family members continuing to rot in Hamas dungeons, just as British and British-linked hostages Emily Damari and Eli Sharabi did before them.' Starmer said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allowed more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months. While he also called for Hamas to immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and 'accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza', he did not explicitly say these conditions would factor into a decision on whether recognition would go ahead. The US accused Starmer, Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, and President Macron of France of being 'clumsy' by saying they would recognise a Palestinian state before all hostages were released. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said recognition of Palestine as a state was 'irrelevant' and told Fox News Radio: 'The UK is like, well, 'if Israel doesn't agree to a ceasefire by September, we're going to recognize a Palestinian state. So if I'm Hamas, I say, 'you know what, let's not allow there to be a ceasefire.' If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognized by all these countries in September.' The British families want the government to 'confirm that without the hostages being released, there can be no peace, and that this will be an important part of its decision as to whether to proceed with recognition and its current plan'. Starmer said this week that 'I've been absolutely clear and steadfast that we must have the remaining hostages released, that's been our position throughout'. However, Damari, a British-Israeli woman who was held captive by Hamas, accused him of 'not standing on the right side of history' and said she was 'deeply saddened' by his decision. The families of Damari and Sharabi were among those who met with the Foreign Office. Also present were relatives of Nadav Popplewell, who died while held captive, as well as those of Oded Lifshitz, who also died, and Yocheved Lifschitz, who was released. The government said: 'We have announced our intention to recognise Palestine in September to protect the viability of the two-state solution. The first step in that process must be a ceasefire and there is no question about that. 'Our demands on Hamas have not changed. For there to be any chance of peace, the hostages must be released. Hamas must lay down its weapons and commit to having no future role in the governance of Gaza. 'We must also see significant progress on the ground including the supply of humanitarian support and for Israel to rule out annexations in the West Bank, and a commitment to a long-term sustainable peace. We will make an assessment ahead of UNGA (the United Nations general assembly) on how far both Israel and Hamas have met the steps we set out. No one side will have a veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.' President Trump had also expressed his 'displeasure and disagreement' with Starmer over the promise to recognise a Palestinian state. The US president, who had previously suggested he was relaxed about the prospect, even though he disagreed, hardened his stance after more countries said they would recognise Palestine. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump had expressed his 'displeasure and his disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada'. She told reporters: 'He feels as though that's rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all of the hostages.' Dame Diana Johnson, the crime and policing minister, said there would be an assessment in September on whether the British government will recognise a Palestinian state. Asked if hostages being released would be a condition of that, she told Times Radio: 'Neither side has a veto on what the British government choose to do in September. And that will be an assessment that will be taking place in September. 'The prime minister has set out what he expects from Israel. Obviously, that's a democratically elected government, very different to Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation.' She said: 'We need to actually have the ceasefire, and then move on to trying to re-establish that peace process and the establishment of what my party and I think generally is accepted, a two-state solution.'


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Putin offers no hint of concessions as he says he wants ‘stable' peace in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has said he wants a 'lasting and stable peace' in Ukraine but given no indication that he is willing to make any concessions to achieve it, after a week in which Russian missiles and drones again caused death and destruction across Ukraine. 'We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,' said Putin, speaking to journalists on Friday, a week before a new deadline imposed by Donald Trump for hostilities to cease. Trump has said if Russia and Ukraine do not come to an agreement to end the war by next Friday, 8 August, he will impose a package of economic sanctions on Russia. Before he took office, Trump had promised to end the war in 24 hours, but since he became president his repeated overtures to Putin have achieved minimal results. In recent weeks, Trump has markedly changed his rhetoric on the conflict, appearing less conciliatory to Putin and more amenable to enhanced support for Ukraine. He called Russia's continued attacks on civilian areas 'disgusting' on Thursday. Last month Trump said he was 'disappointed' with Putin. 'We'll have a great conversation. I'll say: 'That's good, I'll think we're close to getting it done,' and then he'll knock down a building in Kyiv,' he told the BBC. Seemingly referencing Trump's comments, Putin said on Friday: 'As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule.' The death toll from a series of Russian strikes on Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday rose sharply on Friday, to 31, after rescuers found more than a dozen bodies in the rubble of an apartment block that had collapsed after one of the strikes. There were five children among the dead, including a two-year-old, while 159 people were wounded in the attack, one of the worst to hit the Ukrainian capital in more than three years of full-scale war. Putin has periodically claimed to be interested in peace, but only on terms wholly unacceptable to Kyiv. Last week, the third round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul, but broke up in less than an hour and have so far led to no agreements except on prisoner exchanges. Speaking to reporters at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, in northern Russia, Putin said he hoped the peace talks would continue, and that they should be conducted 'without cameras and in a calm atmosphere'. Ukraine, however, says Russia has shown it is not serious about the talks by sending a low-level delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister known for writing patriotic books about history. 'This level of delegation does not have the authority to negotiate, just to spew insults and announce demands,' said Mykhailo Podolyak, a Zelenskyy aide, in an interview in Kyiv. Zelenskyy has said he wants to meet Putin one-on-one, with either Trump or the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as moderator. On Friday, he responded to Putin's claim of being interested in peace with another suggestion to meet. 'If this is a signal of serious readiness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace, and not just an attempt to buy more time for the war and delay sanctions, then Ukraine once again confirms its readiness to meet at the leaders' level at any time,' Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel.


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
British families of Hamas hostages blast Keir Starmer's plan to recognise Palestinian state that they claim will leave loved ones 'rotting in dungeons'
Keir Starmer 's recognition of Palestine will not help the hostages still held in Gaza and is likely to leave them 'rotting in Hamas dungeons', relatives said last night. British families say they were told that the release of those still in the hands of the group would 'play no part' in the UK's plans to recognise statehood. They urged the Prime Minister to change course. Sir Keir announced earlier this week that the UK would take the step of recognising Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September unless Israel meets certain conditions. Members of four British families met with Foreign Office officials on Thursday night seeking clarification on whether conditions would also be placed on Hamas, their lawyers said in a statement. 'However, it was clear from the meeting that the British Government 's policy will not help the hostages, and could even hurt them,' they said. 'We do not say this lightly, but it was made obvious to us at the meeting that although the conditions for recognising a Palestinian state would be assessed 'in the round' in late September, in deciding whether to go ahead with recognition, the release or otherwise of the hostages would play no part in those considerations. 'In other words, the 'vision for peace' which the UK is pursuing... may well involve our clients' family members continuing to rot in Hamas dungeons.' Sir Keir had said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process. While he also called for Hamas to immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, disarm and 'accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza', he did not explicitly say these would factor into whether recognition would go ahead. The families have a range of views on what the future political settlement should look like but their priority is to keep the hostages 'above political games', their lawyers said, as they urged the PM to 'change course before it is too late'. Sir Keir said that he 'particularly' listens to hostages after criticism of his plans from Emily Damari, a British-Israeli woman who was held captive by Hamas. The families of Ms Damari and freed hostage Eli Sharabi were among those who met with the Foreign Office. Also present were relatives of Nadav Popplewell and Oded Lifshitz, who both died while in captivity, as well as those of Yocheved Lifschitz, who was released. US President Donald Trump disagrees with Sir Keir's plans, as well as those of France and Canada. The two countries have also pledged to recognise Palestine. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: '[Mr Trump] feels as though that's rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and the release of all of the hostages.' Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, suggested Sir Keir's 'clumsy' pledge 'has reduced the chances of a ceasefire'. Meanwhile pro-Palestinian groups are planning a 'siege' on Labour MPs, councillors and staff in a bid to force the party into an even tougher stance against Israel. The Palestinian Youth Movement has sent instructions to 'solidarity groups' across the UK to take part in a national day of action against the party.