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TV producer wins legal action

01 July 1995

In the High Court on 28 July lawyers for the Department of Trade and Industry withdrew "untrue" allegations made by the then President of the Board of Trade, Michael Heseltine, his ministers and civil servants made about Mr Martyn Gregory, producer of the Trail". They agreed to pay Mr Gregory substantial damages and his full costs of ?55,000. The programme had exposed the involvement of the UK government and British companies in exporting electro-shock weapons which could be used for torture. Mr Gregory took legal action for defamation against the Department of Trade and Industry following accusations in letters signed by the Rt Hon Michael Heseltine MP, Richard Needham MP, and Ian Taylor MP that the film was "scaremongering" and made "false" or "contrived" allegations against British Aerospace and others. At the end of June Mr Gregory was interviewed under caution by Ministry of Defence Police alleging breach of the Firearms Act and incitement of others to do so - which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Mr Gregory commented: "How can the Government justify spending thousands of pounds investigating me as the journalist who exposed the trade in electro-shock weapons, while they have yet to bring any of the traders in weapons of torture to justice?" While his solicitor, Geoffrey Bindman, said: "Mr Gregory deserves high praise for exposing a disreputable trade. For Government Ministers to hound the messenger instead of heeding the message is a disgraceful misuse of their power." An Early Day Motion in the House of Commons supporting Mr Gregory proposed by Ann Clywd MP was signed by 187 Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs. Omega Foundation, Manchester.