Two survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing have won a harassment case against a former television producer who claimed the attack was staged
In Hibbert & anor v Hall [2024] EWHC 2677 (KB) last week, Mrs Justice Steyn said Richard Hall had caused survivors Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve ‘enormous distress’ by publishing and broadcasting theories the 2017 bombing was an ‘elaborate hoax’ involving ‘crisis actors’.
Kerry Gillespie, associate, Hudgell Solicitors, representing the Hibberts, said the case sent ‘a very clear message to people who think they have the right to publish absurd, harmful, unfounded allegations against others’.
Hanna Basha, partner at Payne Hicks Beach, said: ‘It is incredibly rare for the court to find that a defendant has abused media freedom.
‘The judge sent a strong signal that conspiracy theorists would not be tolerated in the UK courts. It is a significant step forward in tacking the real harm caused by misinformation.’
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