BBC finance chief sues Star over tax-dodge claims

The BBC’s chief financial officer Zarin Patel is suing Express Newspapers at the High Court in a row over a story in the Daily Star.

Patel claims an article headlined “Dodge tax or face the sack! BBC tells its stars” was defamatory and is demanding damages for libel. She is using the BBC’s in-house litigation department to sue the publishers.

Shel is also seeking an injunction banning the paper from repeating the allegations about her.

Patel, the BBC’s finance chief since 2004, is also suing over an editorial on 24 July headlined “Beeb con must stop”, and over the paper’s online version of the story.

The editorial also suggested she had done so turning a blind eye to the fact that the tax-dodging scheme was improperly depriving the public purse of much-needed funds at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.

Patel argues that the stories have exposed her to public scandal and contempt, seriously injured her reputation and caused her considerable distress and embarrassment.

The Daily Star has refused to accept that the words are defamatory or even factually incorrect, and has failed to confirm that the online story – which has been taken down – will be permanently removed from its website.

Topics in this article : Libel