Cleese awarded damages in London

Comedian John Cleese has been awarded £13,500 (€22.,201) damages by a High Court judge against a London-based newspaper that published an article about his move to the US.

The decision by Mr Justice Eady followed a recent hearing in London during which Cleese, 63, gave evidence via video link from his home in California.

Jonathan Caplan QC, representing Cleese, had told the court that the article published in April last year in London’s Evening Standard had “struck at the core of his lifetime achievement”.

Cleese had rejected an offer of £10,000 (€15,223) from the newspaper because he felt that an apology it had published was not sufficient and that he had not been properly vindicated.

Giving his ruling, the judge said that taking a number of matters into consideration: “I have come to the conclusion that the right figure is £13,500.”