The Times - UK (2021-11-25)

the times | Thursday November 25 2021 27

News

the publisher, pointed out that the ref-

erence to Abramovich, 55, being a cash-

ier was “in quotation marks, suggesting

it is someone else’s observation”. He

said the book gave “a firm denial from a

‘person close to Abramovich’ ” that he

had bought Chelsea on Putin’s orders.

Mrs Justice Tipples was asked to

determine the “natural and ordinary”

meaning of the allegations. She found

that readers of the book would under-

stand Abramovich to be “under the

control” of Putin.

The judge added that the ordinary

meaning of the publication was also

that “on the directions of President

Putin and the Kremlin, [Abramovich]

has had to make the fortune from his

business empire available for the use of

President Putin and his regime”.

Passages in the book also meant that

Abramovich “had little choice but to

Abramovich scores first goal

in libel fight over Putin claim

Jonathan Ames Legal Editor

Roman Abramovich, the owner of

Chelsea FC, is heading for a High Court

legal battle over a book suggesting that

he is “under the control” of President

Putin.

The libel trial will go ahead in

London after a judge ruled yesterday

that Catherine Belton’s Putin’s People

would lead readers to believe that “on

the directions of President Putin and

the Kremlin, [Abramovich] has had to

make the fortune from his business

empire available for the use of Presi-

dent Putin and his regime”.

The Russian billionaire is suing Bel-

ton, former Moscow correspondent for

the Financial Times, and her publisher

HarperCollins, which is owned by the

same business as The Times.

She wrote in her book that Abram-

ovich “was acting under Kremlin direc-

tion” when he paid £150 million for the

Premier League club.

Hugh Tomlinson QC, counsel for

Abramovich, told the High Court in

July that readers of the book would

conclude that Abramovich “had been

used as the acceptable face of a corrupt

and dangerous regime”.

Yesterday’s ruling concerned 26 pas-

sages from the book, published last

April.

Belton also wrote that Abramovich

had a corrupt relationship with Putin

and effectively acted as his “cashier”.

Andrew Caldecott QC, for Belton and

comply with these directions”, she

added, and an ordinary reader would

understand the book to allege that “the

claimant purchased Chelsea Football

Club in 2003 at the direction of

President Putin so that Russia could

gain acceptance and influence in the

UK”.

The judge found that all nine of the

meanings were defamatory against

Abramovich and that the allegations

had been presented as statements of

fact, rather than expressions of opinion

as HarperCollins and Belton argued.

At the trial, the author and the pub-

lisher will be forced to defend the fact

that they have defamed Abramovich.

Defences are limited to justification —

proving that the statement was true —

or arguing that it related sufficiently to

a matter of public interest and that the

publishers had adhered to principles of

“responsible journalism”.

The judge also ruled, however, that

claims brought by Rosneft, a Russian oil

company also mentioned in the book,

should be dismissed.

A spokesman for Abramovich said:

“Today’s judgment further underscores

the need for the false and defamatory

claims about Mr Abramovich to be

corrected as soon as possible.”

HarperCollins said that its lawyers

were “carefully considering the judg-

ment” and that it was “pleased that the

judge” had found that matters relating

to three of the four passages Rosneft

complained about would not proceed.

are portrayed as rogues or
idiots. The reality is very
different. It is actually of
hardworking, normal
people, caring deeply
about what they do and
working all the hours
there are.”
The Vicar of Dibley,
broadcast between
1994 and 2000, reached
audiences of 13 million.
It was set in a fictional
Oxfordshire village, where
Geraldine Granger, played by
French, was made vicar after
changes in the Church of England

permitted the ordination of women.

In Rev, Hollander played Adam

Smallbone, who became vicar

of an inner-city church in

Hackney, east London,

after leaving a small

rural Suffolk parish.

The archbishop also

drew attention to

mental health

challenges suffered by

farmers because of the

lonely nature of their

work. “The storms they

have weathered over the last few

years have been deep and

extraordinarily painful.”

re

ed by

of an

Hac

aft

ru

d

m

ch

farm

lllonel

work.“

have weathere

TV portrayals have covered the
disparate characters of the Vicar
of Dibley, Father Ted and Rev

BBC; ALAMY

Roman Abramovich at a meeting with

President Putin of Russia in May 2005