Noel Clarke's lawyers threatened an accuser with prosecution, court told

Noel Clarke's lawyers sent a letter to a woman who is accusing him of sexual misconduct, threatening her with prosecution in an attempt at "witness intimidation", the high court has heard.

- Haroon Siddique

The 49-year-old actor, who is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) for libel over seven articles and a podcast published between April 2021 and March 2022, was yesterday confronted with more allegations made against him by women.

On his second day of being cross-examined in the witness box, Clarke was asked about a letter sent to Imogen*, an actor who is due to give evidence that she was "harassed and preyed on" by the writer-director of the Kidulthood trilogy at a dinner.

Gavin Millar KC, acting for the Guardian, said the letter, sent by solicitors firm the Khan Partnership on behalf of Clarke on 5 November 2024, four days after a hearing in the case had taken place, stated that Imogen had been circulating allegations about the former Doctor Who star and that they were "grounds for legal action and criminal investigation".

He continued: "You were trying to deter her from giving evidence on our [the Guardian's] side, weren't you? ... The truth is that this letter is a straightforward attempt at witness intimidation."