High Court Backs Owen Jones in Libel Case Brought by BBC Editor Raffi Berg

Overview

• High Court judges ruled Jones’s article was an expression of opinion with its basis clearly indicated through cited examples of Berg’s work and role.
• The court rejected Berg’s core contention that the piece portrayed him as a deliberate rogue who breached duties of accuracy and impartiality.
• The decision shifts the burden to Berg to prove Jones did not genuinely hold the view or that no honest person could have held it on the facts at publication.
• Jones said on X that he stands by his reporting and is prepared to defend the article if the claim continues.
• Jones’s Drop Site News report referenced BBC journalists alleging a culture of pro-Israel bias at the broadcaster, in a rare journalist-on-journalist libel action brought by Berg, who is represented by solicitor Mark Lewis.