The BBC’s publication of claims that Gerry Adams sanctioned the killing of a British spy was “reckless journalism” based on a single anonymous source, and constituted an “unjustified attack” on the former Sinn Féin leader’s reputation, the High Court has been told.
Lawyers for Mr Adams made the claims on Tuesday at the opening of a civil trial hearing into his defamation action against the BBC.
The case arises out of a 2016 BBC Spotlight programme and a related article, in which Mr Adams claims he was falsely accused of sanctioning the April 2006 killing of informer Denis Donaldson. The BBC denies that Mr Adams was defamed.
In his opening statement to the jury, Tom Hogan SC, for Mr Adams, said that his client’s reputation was one of a “peacemaker”, responsible for moving the Republican movement away from violence and towards peace. He said the essence of the case “is an unjustified attack on his reputation”.
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Mr Hogan said the BBC is not standing over the allegation that Mr Adams sanctioned the killing of Mr Donaldson, and that the jury will not hear it suggested during the case that the allegation is truthful.
Mr Hogan said that the BBC’s publication of the claims was “reckless journalism”. “The allegation was not published in good faith,” he said.
Mr Hogan said in publishing the allegation, the BBC relied on a single, anonymous source, a “journalistic no-no”. He said that the BBC did not undertake an appropriate level of – or any – verification of the source’s claims, which were based entirely on “hearsay”.
Counsel said the allegations against Mr Adams came “out of the blue”, when he was contacted by a BBC journalist in June 2016 seeking his response to the allegations.
“The allegation that Gerry Adams sanctioned the killing of Denis Donaldson is not true,” Mr Hogan said.
Mr Hogan said Mr Adams’s denial of the claims was never put to the anonymous source, and the source was never asked to justify his claims.
Mr Hogan said his side is confident that the BBC will fail in satisfying the jury that “enough was done to verify the most serious of allegations”.
He said the BBC will say that it did not defame Mr Adams, that it was “fair and reasonable” to publish the allegations.
Mr Hogan said the BBC will say that Mr Adams’s reputation is so bad, that a false accusation of murder made against him would not make anyone think less of him.
Mr Hogan, appearing with Declan Doyle SC and John Kerr, instructed by Johnsons Solicitors, also told the jury they were not being asked if they liked Mr Adams.
“It’s fair to say that Gerry Adams could be described as a polarising character. For some, he is a hero, for others, he is not,” he said.
Closing his speech, Mr Hogan said “there have been few defamation cases as serious as this one”. He said the claims were circulated to a “very large” number of people, and the article outlining the claims remains on the BBC’s website.
In the witness box, Mr Adams spoke of his childhood growing up in Ballymurphy in west Belfast, the influence his paternal grandmother had on him, his schooling, and his “political awakening”. He also spoke about the establishment of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, and the early days of The Troubles.
Mr Adams will continue to give evidence on Wednesday.
The BBC denies defamation and claims the Spotlight programme and publication were put out in good faith and during the course of discussion on a subject of public and vital interest. The BBC says the programme constituted responsible journalism that was the result of careful investigation.
The trial, before Mr Justice Alexander Owens, is expected to last up to four weeks.
