To everyone who told me I couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t – I could, I would, I did.”
Blogger and poverty campaigner Jack Monroe has won £24,000 damages in a libel case against broadcaster Katie Hopkins, and it’s all because of some tweets.
In May 2015, Hopkins sent Monroe public Twitter messages, in what she says was a case of mistaken identity. She posted the tweets after a Whitehall war memorial was vandalised with the words “Fuck Tory scum” during anti-austerity protests.
Hopkins tweeted Monroe:
“Scrawled on any memorials recently? Vandalised the memory of those who fought for your freedom. Grandma got any more medals?”
Hopkins claims she confused Monroe with Laurie Penny, a New Statesman columnist, also critical of austerity.
Monroe responded to Hopkins’ tweet:
“I have NEVER ‘scrawled on a memorial’. Brother in the RAF. Dad was a Para in the Falklands. You’re a piece of shit.”
They then asked for an apology:
“Dear @KTHopkins, public apology + £5K to migrant rescue and I won’t sue. It’ll be cheaper for you and v satisfying for me.”
Although Hopkins deleted the tweet in question, she did not apologise and instead tweeted:
“Can someone explain to me – in 10 words or less – the difference between irritant @PennyRed and social anthrax @MsJackMonroe.”
Monroe’s lawyers say that this second tweet had a “defamatory innuendo meaning” that Monroe “approved or condoned the criminal vandalisation of the women’s war memorial during an anti-government protest”.
After winning the case against Hopkins today, Monroe tweeted:
It"s taken 21 months
but today the High Court ruled
that Hopkins statements to/about me were defamatory.
I sued her for libel.
and I won.— â„Jack Monrowflake (@MxJackMonroe) March 10, 2017
We went to Katie Hopkins’ Twitter to see what she had to say about it all and this is what we found.