Employee spoke up 'to prevent Clarke hurting young women'

A woman who worked for Noel Clarke said she spoke up about the actor sexually assaulting her because she did not think he should be "around young women in the film industry", the high court has heard.

- Haroon Siddique

Gina Powell, who worked for the former Doctor Who actor at Unstoppable Productions from 2014 to 2017, has been accused by Clarke of being involved in a conspiracy with the Guardian and others to destroy his career by making allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Yesterday, his barrister, Philip Williams, suggested to Powell that she was driven by "malice" and "hate" to create the maximum amount of negative press coverage for Clarke after leaving his company because of a pay dispute.

Giving evidence behind a screen, Powell denied this and said she was "one of the last to come onboard" with allegations against the actor.

"I wanted to prevent him from hurting any more young women," she said. "I don't think he should be around any young women in the film industry. I don't think he should be around young women in any industry."