I don’t get much time for TV but when I do I love a chat show. My favourite was Michael Parkinson, a real old-fashioned gent and excellent journalist. It hasn’t been the same since he has been gone – Jonathon Ross and Pierce Morgan couldn’t lace his boots!
It saddened me last year when Sir. Michael was accused by the Daily Mail of lying in his autobiography when he said he had a happy and harmonious upbringing. The Mail also accused Parkinson of acting in a “grossly insensitive” way to hi Uncle, Bernard Parkinson.
The biased part of me was therefore pleased to see that Parky has been awarded £25,000 in libel compensation from the Daily Mail for their comments.
Libel is the English equivalent of the Scot’s Law offence of Defamation. These actions are often raised by celebrities who look to clear their name over an incident, with compensation as an after thought. The compensation in these cases is often an indicator that the newspaper or other media vehicle was wrong and the allegation false.
Quite rightly, no mud stuck to Sir Mike.
