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Sheffield Wednesday chairman sues over Five Live fan posts

By Sarah Limbrick

Sheffield Wednesday chairman David Allen has kicked off a libel battle over messages posted on the BBC’s Five Live message board service.

Five Live runs a message board service for members to post statements about sport, connected to its 606 football programme at weekends. Members choose a name, which is usually a pseudonym, their actual name, and an email address, according to a High Court writ.

Allen contends that the 606 forum has been used to post false and seriously defamatory messages about him, and says the BBC has become mixed up in the wrongdoing of some users. He wants to sue the individuals who have posted defamatory messages about him on the 606 forum in August, using the names ‘enchanted-fox’and ‘Rocker”.

Allen says he des not know these people’s real identities, and that the BBC has said it will not disclose information about them without a court order. Now he is asking the High Court in London to order the BBC to disclose the email addresses of the two individuals, as well as their names and postal addresses, and any other information it may have.

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