Writing from bitter experience, if only all journalists could be as forgiving as Channel 4’s Jon Snow ‒ who forewent the chance of a hefty pay-off from the Mail on Sunday when it wrongly claimed he had a drug-fuelled affair with a younger woman.
Now his lawyer, Mark Stephens, has told just how forgiving Snow was ‒ revealing that he could have taken the MoS for £75,000 over the claims.
Stephens told a Radio Academy conference last week: “Jon doesn’t believe in suing journalists. He just wanted to put it right and [make it clear that the story] was just a figment of people’s imagination. People make mistakes ‒ he understands that.
“When people come into the office, they only really want someone to say sorry. It’s only later that they want money.â€
Update 13/7: Jon Snow has since pointed out that Geraldine Proudler of Olswang acted for him in this case; Stephens only advised him.
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