BBC apologises and pays damages to PinkNews bosses over defamatory claims

The BBC has apologised unreservedly and agreed to pay damages to PinkNews founder Benjamin Cohen and his husband Anthony James over allegations published and broadcast by the corporation in 2024. The BBC read a statement at the High Court last week. It has removed the documentary and article from its news website, and coverage of the allegations on other BBC programmes has also been removed.

PinkNews is one of the world's largest LGBTQ+ websites. In 2024, the BBC published a detailed investigation into the behaviour of Cohen and James. The corporation said it had carried out an 18-month investigation. It said the reporting was based on interviews with 33 current and former PinkNews staff members and was corroborated by internal written complaints, private company emails and WhatsApp messages. Other media outlets subsequently covered the BBC's reporting.

Cohen and James took legal action against the BBC in response. The case ended with the BBC accepting that it had made a series of very serious false and defamatory allegations. The BBC apologised unreservedly and confirmed it would pay damages. In a statement after the case, Cohen and James said the BBC had reinforced one of the most damaging homophobic tropes, that gay men are sexual predators who pose a threat to others. They later questioned the standards, transparency and editorial ethics of the BBC under its new leadership.

The couple also said the BBC ignored warnings about the veracity of the allegations. They were new parents at the time, and the coverage led to social workers investigating them. Former senior BBC executive Katie Searle said the case raised questions about how newsrooms stand up serious claims. She said newsrooms need the right sources and evidence, and must ask whether a story will stand up journalistically and in court. Warnings about evidence should be treated as a major red flag, she added.

Former BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the BBC had at one point believed the allegations were true, but later decided it could not prove them in a defamation action. In libel cases, a judge first decides whether a statement is defamatory, then the burden shifts to the broadcaster to prove a defence such as truth on the balance of probabilities.

The BBC's handling of the settlement itself drew criticism. The story was carried in radio news summaries and the BBC updated its corrections and clarifications page, but the corporation's news website did not publish a story. Cohen criticised the lack of BBC coverage. Searle said the case warranted online coverage because of the significant damage caused and because it was a major error by the BBC. Coleman also said the BBC's news website should have covered it. The discussion noted that the BBC has reported prominently on other cases it lost, including a libel case involving Gerry Adams and a privacy case brought by Cliff Richard.