Businessman wins record £100,000 for internet libel

Published on Thursday 3 April 2008 22:24

A HOUSING boss yesterday won a record £100,000 damages for internet libel, in one of Britain's first cases stemming from on-line harassment by a business rival.

Peter Walls, 55, of Sunderland, said the two-year hate campaign had been a nightmare.

He, his family and 30 staff had been subjected to "vicious and unpleasant, anonymous, defamatory attacks", the High Court in London was told.

Mr Walls, who runs Gentoo, a social housing company, said:

"It has not just been a single time; it has been day after day, and that has been very difficult to live with."

His house – now fitted with police alarms – had repeatedly been attacked, while his partner, Caroline, 40, and children still feared for their safety.

The court heard the two-year campaign started in April 2004 when a competitor to Mr Walls, the businessman John Finn, through his company, Pallion Housing, created a site called "Dad's Place".

Other people used the now-defunct site, its anonymous forums and associated newsletters to publish various false allegations. These included that Walls was a paedophile, corrupt, and had hired hitmen and sexually harassed and bullied staff.

Finn was found guilty of publishing the material after a trial last year.