Lord McAlpine settles libel claims with £310k payout from BBC and ITV

Lord McAlpine, who was wrongly implicated in child sex abuse allegations, has settled his libel actions against the BBC and ITV.

The former Tory Party treasurer was not at the High Court to hear the broadcasters' solicitors apologise unreservedly for the damage and distress caused.

His lawyers confirmed that the agreements involved the payment of £185,000 damages by the BBC and £125,000 from ITV, together with substantial costs.

The peer's counsel, Sir Edward Garnier QC, told Mr Justice Tugendhat that the action followed a Newsnight broadcast in November about the alleged sexual abuse of boys at the Bryn Estyn children's home in Wales in the 1970s and 1980s.

Two victims claimed that they suffered abuse "at the hands of a leading Conservative politician from the Thatcher years".

The item did not name Lord McAlpine, but the programme-makers intended him to be the target of the allegations, he added.

"Unfortunately, in fact disastrously, names had already been named," Sir Edward said.

"Throughout the day on November 2, Newsnight's forthcoming report had been widely trailed on the internet.

"Furthermore, Lord McAlpine's name had been linked to it. In the aftermath of Newsnight's broadcast, Lord McAlpine was widely identified as the subject of Newsnight's allegations.

"In short, Newsnight made the most serious of defamatory allegations about Lord McAlpine, tarring him as a paedophile who was guilty of sexually abusing vulnerable young boys living in care.

"Those allegations are untrue.

"As the BBC now accepts, they were utterly baseless. These disgraceful allegations should never have been made."

Sir Edward said that, before the broadcast, the BBC had not even contacted Lord McAlpine. If it had, he would have told them that he had never been to the home in question.

Furthermore, it was only after the programme aired, that interviewee Steve Messham was shown a photo of Lord McAlpine. Having seen it, he immediately withdrew his allegations and apologised.

Lord McAlpine had nothing but sympathy for Mr Messham and for other boys who suffered abuse, said Sir Edward, adding that he also wished it to be known that he generally held the BBC in great esteem.

But Newsnight had broadcast the most highly defamatory allegations about him, which had not only caused him great distress and embarrassment, but had affected him to his soul.