Thursday 26 February 2009

The Sun - Tabloid Lies

Readers with a long memory may remember this story in the Sun from last March, which was repeated via numerous websites:
A MUSLIM bus driver told stunned passengers to get off so he could PRAY.

The white Islamic convert rolled out his prayer mat in the aisle and knelt on the floor facing Mecca.

Passengers watched in amazement as he held out his palms towards the sky, bowed his head and began to chant.

One, who filmed the man on his mobile phone, said: “He was clearly praying and chanting in Arabic.
Well, the Sun subsequently retracted it and has now had to pay out £30,000 on a libel claim, not to mention whatever they'll have to pay out in legal costs:
A London bus driver today accepted £30,000 in damages from the Sun over a claim that he ordered passengers off his vehicle so that he could pray.

The story in March last year caused Arunas Raulynaitis considerable distress and embarrassment, his solicitor, Stephen Loughrey, told Mr Justice Eady at the high court in London.

Loughrey said the newspaper now accepted that the allegations were entirely false and that Raulynaitis did not order any passengers off, there was no rucksack and no one refused to reboard because they feared he was a fanatic.
So now you know where our name comes from!

3 comments:

Akela said...

This is all very well but 30K, even with expenses, is peanuts for the sun. Surely a published apology, as prominent as the original story, would do far more good?

septicisle said...

The Sun has already apologised, so this is presumably the settlement: http://the-sun-lies.blogspot.com/2008/08/apologising-to-praying-bus-driver.html

Daniel Hoffmann-Gill said...

How can than just make shit up?