At a recent session in the High Court in Dublin, the BBC categorically rejected the claims that it had contravened the rules of good, responsible journalism in reporting that Gerry Adams had, in effect, authorized the murder of a British agent. The court learned that the BBC had, in fact, relied on not one, but six separate sources for the material presented in its story.
A defamation lawsuit against the BBC is being pursued by Mr. Adams, 76 years of age, who is the plaintiff in this case. The lawsuit arises from a 2016 episode of the Spotlight program and an online article that accompanied the television segment. At issue is the murder of a man named Denis Donaldson, which occurred ten years before the episode and article were broadcast and published. Gerry Adams denies any involvement.
The libel trial with a jury was in its eighth day when John O'Loan, an Australian journalist instrumental in establishing Sky News, was called as an expert witness for Mr. Adams.
He has been in journalism for 45 years, and among his prior positions were news editor and managing director.
Mr. Adams' legal team assigned him the job of putting together a report that would be based on the program, the online article, and the various forms of communication and documents they had acquired through the legal disclosure process.
A source named Martin was interviewed for the Spotlight program. Martin made allegations against Mr. Adams during the interview.
Mr. O'Loan told the 12 jurors that comprise the jury: "The editorial standards of responsible journalism were not met by the BBC. They were not met in the inclusion and presentation of singular, anonymous allegations against Mr. Adams.
There wasn't sufficient editorial integrity in the segment for it to be worthy of being published.
None of the primary documents or supporting evidence was available to back up the serious criminal charge. He went on to state that journalist Jennifer O'Leary did not ask Martin about the allegation, and that Martin's input was given "disproportionate prominence."
The documents Mr. O'Loan examined did not say "where or if" the BBC had verified the claim with its source.
"We were led to think that a former spook was all we were dealing with; that was the sum of our knowledge of Martin's past," he stated.
That is the rationale for publishing the allegation, which is pretty thin.
Eoin McCullough, representing the BBC, cross-examined Mr. O'Loan. He scrutinized the witness's testimony, including the part where the witness said he did not think the BBC had corroborated Martin's claim.
Post-broadcast correspondence from the BBC to Mr. O'Loan stated that there were "multiple, authoritative, credible sources" behind the claims made in the program. Mr. McCullough was adamant that this was not a fair characterization. Nonetheless, he observed that the expert report stated that the storyline had no supporting evidence.
The lawyer indicated that there were five additional sources apart from Martin.
Mr. McCullough stated that there were three additional sources from the security sector and two from Republican circles that backed the assertions made by Martin.
"Martin was not the only person providing this information to the program team; the program team got this information from many different obvious and good sources, both authoritative and confidential," stated the informant. Mr. O'Loan remarked: "We were unaware of that during the broadcast. There was nothing evident."That's what I wrote the report on."
He admitted leaving out of his report the BBC saying it had many sources because he felt "it didn’t hold up."
Mr. McCullough also asserted that Mr. O'Loan had attempted to "undermine" Martin and the gravity of the story by referring to him in his testimony as "some bloke."
Testimony for Mr. Adams was provided by former US Congressman Bruce Morrison, via a video link from Bethesda, near Washington DC. He participated in the peace talks for Northern Ireland that occurred during the Clinton 1990s. Negotiations involving the parties took place during this decade, and they resulted in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
While recognizing that Mr. Adams is a "controversial" figure, he nonetheless portrayed him "as a serious person with a serious aim"—peace, in Mr. Adams's case. Mr. Adams was referred to by Mr. Morrison as "an elder statesman."
Someone who has contributed in an extraordinary manner to convert Northern Ireland from what it used to be into the place it is today, is seen by many as being in the spotlight of the recent controversy.
Mr. Adams had received commendation from individuals like former President Bill Clinton and former Prime Minister Tony Blair, he noted. It was underscored by Paul Gallagher of the BBC that Mr. Adams had been turned down for a U.S. visa owing to 'terrorist connections.'
Mr. Morrison replied, in response to this: "I don't know of his association with the IRA."
Mr Morrison replied: "I don't know of his association with the IRA. "It only takes allegations to deny a visa."
The court was told by a media authority that the program in question probably did not break broadcasting laws and was not considered "unfair or unjust."
Dublin's High Court was informed that solicitors representing the BBC asked him to assess and formulate a report concerning the program. He stated: "What I have written is, all things considered, given the enormous public interest, what material is already in the public domain about Gerry Adams, the fact that the BBC had every reason to believe their main source, 'Martin', was credible and reliable, that the BBC had corroborative evidence from other credible and multiple sources, that in my estimation, all this together, is what I should have and could have written."
An expert witness who developed the UK’s broadcasting standards for Ofcom and served as its first director of standards, Chris Banatvala, prepared a report concerning the programme that alleged Mr. Adams had given the go-ahead to murder Denis Donaldson.
An independent media consultant, Mr. Banatvala, made the conclusion that the program would most likely not be in violation of Ofcom broadcasting standards and "was not found to be unfair or unjust."
"Nevertheless, I don’t think that would alone create unfairness to Mr. Adams. Ironically, one could argue that having more sources supporting the claim potentially heightens any unfairness to Mr. Adams, as it simply accentuates the allegation. So it works both ways.
He stressed that it was essential to find out if the BBC had claimed as a fact that Mr. Adams had approved of the murder or if the matter had been presented as an allegation."
"If they say it as a fact, then it needs to be proven with substantial evidence. If they say it as an allegation, then it is something that is maybe believable but not guaranteed to be true, and it's in the public's interest to know about it."
“It’s of high public interest because it concerns a then elected politician, an allegation of serious misconduct, of potentially sanctioning a murder at a time when the IRA had a ceasefire, where the political progress had moved towards peace, and he was responsible, allegedly, for sanctioning the killing of an informant.”
“You couldn’t get a more serious allegation or something of greater interest to the public.”
Mr. Banatvala also noted that Mr. Adams was given an "appropriate and timely" chance to respond to the allegations.
During cross-examination by the barrister for Mr. Adams, Tom Hogan SC, Mr. Banatvala said the BBC program did not present the information from its anonymous source as a "fact," but rather as an "allegation."
He stated that this was a subtle distinction. This assertion was contested by Mr. Hogan, who maintained that the documentary presented the idea that Mr. Adams sanctioned the murder as an actual fact.
The witness did not agree. "I respectfully disagree," the witness responded.
Mr. Hogan then asked if it was usual for a program editor not to communicate with Ofcom when a complaint investigation was underway.
Spotlight's ex-editor Jeremy Adams was not called as a witness in the High Court, the barrister noted. Mr. Banatvala responded: "I think he's not at the BBC anymore."
The trial continues.
By Eddie Price
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