BBC is to pay 'substantial' damages to Ukraine president after claiming he paid Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen £300,000 to prolong a meeting at the White House - Graham Atkins


  • The BBC has agreed to pay 'substantial' damages to the president of Ukraine 
  • It's over false allegations that he procured payment to arrange talks with Trump
  • The broadcaster made the false claim in an article on its website on May 23, 2018

The BBC has agreed to pay 'substantial' damages to the president of Ukraine after claiming he paid Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen £300,000 to prolong a meeting at the White House in June 2017 into more substantial talks.

Petro Poroshenko took legal action over the false claims made by the broadcaster made in an article on its website and as a headline news item on the News At Ten on May 23 2018, a judge at the High Court in London heard on Thursday.

The BBC said that a representative of Poroshenko contacted Cohen through a Jewish charity in New York and paid him to extend his time with the president.

Cohen, who has always denied the claims, would have instead needed to lobby on the country’s behalf as he was not registered as a representative of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, whom the BBC has agreed to pay 'substantial compensation' over 'seriously defamatory' false allegations

The broadcaster tried to argue that it had made a less serious allegation that that claimed by Poroshenko’s lawyers, who said the accusation was 'seriously defamatory'.

Yet Mr Justice Julian Knowles sided with Poroshenko’s interpretation, resulting in the BBC agreeing to pay 'a substantial sum by way of compensation' and issue a correction, as well as pay the Ukrainian president’s legal costs.

Mr Poroshenko's solicitor Graham Atkins told the judge: 'Put simply, this allegation and the facts on which it purported to be based are simply false.

'Mr Poroshenko did not authorise or procure any payment to Mr Cohen of any kind, nor was any such payment ever made to Mr Cohen or any other individuals for that purpose.

'Mr Poroshenko did not instruct close associates to open up any back channel with Mr Trump in order to secure substantial talks with him, far less did he do so through Mr Cohen.'





 

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