Jury discharged in defamation case after failing to reach verdict

A jury yesterday failed to reach a verdict in a defamation action brought over an article by Sunday Times columnist Brenda Power.

The jury has been discharged and the case will now be relisted for another hearing before a new jury unless a settlement is reached in the meantime.

John McCauley, aged 46, a property consultant originally from Donegal but now based in Dubai and Lithuania, had sued over an article in which Ms Power criticised him for taking a midwife to court over the interruption of him filming the birth of his first child.