#MeToo movement 'began to catch up' with Clarke, court hears

Women began discussing Noel Clarke's alleged past sexual misconduct in response to the #MeToo movement, the high court in London heard yesterday, as he began giving evidence in his libel claim against the Guardian.

- Haroon Siddique

Cross-examining Clarke for the Guardian, Gavin Millar KC told the actor he had begun to panic because the movement "began to catch up with you". But during often combative cross-examination, the former Doctor Who star said his female accusers were variously "lying" and "seeking attention" and had "jumped on the bandwagon".

He said the Guardian had "smashed my life for four years with this rubbish, this nonsense... I did not do this, I would not do this. I have got children, this is not true."

The actor, 49, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) in relation to seven articles and a podcast published between April 2021 and March 2022 in which more than 20 women accused him of sexual misconduct.

On his first day in the witness box, Clarke was asked about a series of allegations that had been made against him by a number of women.

They included an account by Mila*, an actor who claims he made sexually inappropriate comments during a scene in which she was required to strip, and also obtained inappropriate and intrusive footage of her, which he shared.

Clarke told the court Mila's motivation for complaining about him years later was that, after her career prospered, she regretted doing the film.