Yusuf Islam Victorious in Libel Complaint against Sun and Sunday Times Over False Terror Allegations

Yusuf Islam - the music star formerly known as Cat Stevens - has won his libel claims against the Sunday Times and Sun newspapers.

The complaint against the Sunday Times related to an article which was published in the wake of the well-publicised decision by the US authorities to refuse Mr Islam entry into the United States in September 2004 and to divert an aircraft in which he was travelling. The Sunday Times article alleged that in fact this decision was well-founded, on the entirely false basis that Mr Islam had been a supporter of Palestinian terrorists.

A matter of days later, columnist Richard Littlejohn, writing in the Sun newspaper, picked up on the Sunday Times' story and repeated (albeit with his inimitable gloss) the false allegations linking Mr Islam to terrorism.

Faced with these extremely serious, yet entirely false, allegations, Mr Islam was left with little choice but to bring claims against the two newspapers.

Recognising that their position was entirely untenable, both newspapers quickly agreed to publish fulsome and prominent apologies in which they acknowledged that the allegations they had published were entirely without foundation. Indeed, both newspapers recognised that, far from being a supporter of terrorism, Mr Islam had only recently been given a "Man for Peace" award by a group of Nobel Peace laureates.

As well as apologising for the libels, paying his legal costs and undertaking never to repeat these false allegations, the Sun and Sunday Times subsequently agreed to pay Mr Islam very substantial damages, every penny of which he has since donated to the Small Kindness charity.

This victory is the latest in a line of successful matters in which Mr Islam has been represented by Carter-Ruck. At present, Carter-Ruck is also assisting him in his efforts to establish the basis upon which the US authorities saw fit to deny him entry into the United States and (apparently) place him on a "No Fly" list, with a view to him then challenging this serious and apparently baseless restriction on his freedom of movement. To date, the US government has failed to set out any reasoned basis for its decision, despite the best efforts not only of Mr Islam and his advisers, but also Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary.

Mr Islam continues to be advised in these matters by Carter-Ruck partner Adam Tudor and assistant Antonia Foster.

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Summer 2005