By Gabriel Princewill-
Former Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Sean Price, is taking legal action against regional publisher Newsquest over an April 2022 Northern Echo story that a judge ruled could have implicated him in the unlawful monitoring of journalists’ phones.
This legal battle follows Price’s previous lawsuit against the publisher of the Mirror for falsely alleging his involvement in the interception of a journalist’s phone records.
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The Mirror Group Newspapers settled the case in January 2019 with an apology, significant damages, and legal costs.
However, this marks the second libel case against Price who was sacked in 2012 following a disciplinary finding of gross misconduct.
A legal battle to recover £500,000 from the former chief constable of Cleveland Police was dropped in 2015 after the claim was settled.
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The force had been trying to claw back salary and bonuses paid to Sean Price before he was sacked for gross misconduct in 2012
The Northern Echo article in question highlighted the appointment of a new chief constable and explored the troubled history of Cleveland Police, citing a series of scandals, including the force being officially rated as failing in 2019, the unlawful monitoring of journalists’ phones, and long-standing claims of racism within the ranks.
Price argued that the article carried the defamatory meaning that “there were strong grounds to suspect” his involvement in both the force’s unlawful monitoring of journalists’ phones and its long-standing racism.
The publisher contended that the article simply meant Price “committed acts of gross misconduct while he was Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, which led to him being sacked in 2012.”
At a High Court meaning hearing on November 21, Robert Sterling, representing Price, argued that the article failed to linguistically and grammatically separate the former chief constable from references to officers being under investigation and to racism within the ranks.
Jonathan Scherbel-Ball, representing Newsquest Media Group, countered that the “context and general thrust” of the article indicated problems with the police force extending over 11 years.
He suggested that the reasonable reader would interpret the story as events beyond Mr. Price’s dismissal in 2012.
Deputy Judge Susie Alegre ruled that the article was defamatory of Price, noting that the relevant paragraph did not draw a clear distinction between Price’s dismissal, the unlawful phone monitoring, and the racism claims.
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