Women left ‘shaken, fearful and in tears’ after conversations with Noel Clarke

Actor Noel Clarke contacted a number of people on the eve of publication of a Guardian story about his alleged sexual misconduct, with conversations leaving some women “shaken, fearful and in tears”, the High Court has heard.

Paul Lewis, The Guardian’s head of investigations, said he did not want to give Clarke longer than necessary to respond to the allegations before publication out of fear that he would discourage women from speaking out.

Clarke is suing the newspaper’s publisher Guardian News and Media (GNM) over seven articles and a podcast, including an article in April 2021 that said 20 women who knew him professionally had come forward with allegations of misconduct.

The Doctor Who actor, 49, denies the allegations and claims several people who have made claims are part of a conspiracy to defame him.

Giving evidence at a High Court hearing on Monday, Mr Lewis said his team gave Clarke 24 hours notice to respond before publication, which was then extended to 76 hours.

He said: “We thought there was a risk that if Mr Clarke had an extended period of time, it would increase the possibility that some of these women would retract their allegations or be discouraged from speaking.

“They felt Mr Clarke had a reputation for being threatening, for using legal action against people who crossed him.”

In a witness statement, he said his reporters Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne were told that Clarke “had hired private investigators and had been pressuring women to stay silent”.

He said he believed that Clarke and his business partner Jason Maza had contacted “at least 10 people”, with some of the conversations leaving women “shaken, fearful and in tears”.

“I believed that, with more time, Mr Clarke and Mr Maza could succeed in persuading vulnerable women to withdraw their co-operation, perhaps by threatening them, and in doing so could potentially scupper the publication of any potential story holding him to account for his alleged behaviour,” Mr Lewis added.

Mr Maza is not due to give evidence in the libel trial.

Philip Williams, for Clarke, said previously in written submissions that the actor was “barely able to reply to the allegations” published by The Guardian and was “perceived as a criminal by all those who previously trusted and worked with him”.

He described The Guardian’s 24-hour response period as “highly unreasonable”.

Mr Lewis replied: “These issues were issues that were within Mr Clarke’s direct line of knowledge.

“It was also the case that with some allegations Mr Clarke was aware of them and he had been fighting them. It wasn’t going to arrive cold on his desk.”

The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn is due to conclude in April, with a decision expected in writing at a later date.