Psychic's libel battle ends in victory - Graham Atkins Solicitor
Who? Graham Atkins Solicitor, 46, founding partner of media specialists Atkins Thomson. Why is he in the news?
Represented psychic Sally Morgan
in her successful libel action against the publisher of the Daily Mail. The
newspaper had accused her of using a hidden earpiece during a Dublin show to
receive instructions from her team which she then repeated on stage. The newspaper
accepted this was untrue and settled for £125,000 just prior to trial – one of
the largest ever pre-action awards.
Thoughts on the case: ‘As a psychic, you will always get sceptics
and people questioning your integrity, but that is far from a newspaper with
enormous circulation saying you have cheated, which can ruin your reputation
entirely. The allegation came from a radio phone-in when two ladies said they
heard instructions through an open window at the rear of the theatre being
repeated on stage. But there was no proof despite the Mail spending 18 months
trying to uncover evidence.’
Dealing with the media: ‘The general media were reasonably fair and
careful about what they printed. It was the bloggers who caused more of an
issue. They accused Sally of being a fraud and a cheat and effectively said
"come and sue us". It’s a free-for-all but we can’t pursue everyone –
we’ve done everything we could to vindicate her to the millions who read the
Mail and Mail Online.
‘I had a few emails or tweets
criticising me for representing her, to put it politely. It was quite
unpleasant at times.’
Career high: ‘Suing Arnold
Schwarzenegger [and two aides] when he was governor of California following
allegations made against my client by the governor’s publicist in the Los
Angeles Times. The case was brought in London, on the basis that the paper is
available here online. We were working for three years on this claim, so it was
great when it settled to the satisfaction of all parties.’
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