Simon Schofield v Politicalite Limited & Anor
| Judge | Mrs Justice Steyn |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 543 (KB) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Court | King's Bench Division |
| Counsel | Walsh,Gemma Mcneil Walsh |
| Date | 11 March 2024 |
Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EWHC 543 (KB)
Case No: KB-2023-003104
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
KING'S BENCH DIVISION
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS LIST
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 11/03/2024
Before :
THE HON. MRS JUSTICE STEYN DBE
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Between :
SIMON SCHOFIELD Claimant
- and -
(1) POLITICALITE LIMITED
(2) JORDAN JAMES KENDALL
Defendants
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Gemma McNeil-Walsh (instructed by Brandsmiths) for the Claimant
The Defendants did not appear and were not represented
Hearing dates: 23 February 2024
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Approved Judgment
This judgment was handed down remotely at 12.00pm on 11 March 2024 by circulation to
the parties or their representatives by e-mail and by release to the National Archives.
.............................
THE HON. MRS JUSTICE STEYN DBE
THE HON. MRS JUSTICE STEYN DBE
Approved Judgment
Schofield v Politicalite Limited
Mrs Justice Steyn DBE :
A Introduction
1. This judgment deals with remedies in this claim for libel, malicious falsehood and
misuse of private information, following the entry of judgment in default of
acknowledgment of service. For the reasons given below, I have awarded the claimant
2013.
2. The claimant, Simon Schofield, is an award-winning theatrical producer, actor, and
creative director, well-known for his roles in various West End productions, including
The Sound of Music, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Les
Misérables. In 2010, he co-founded The 2 Faces Theatre CIC (previously known as
The 2 Faced Theatre Ltd) (‘the Company’). The idea behind the Company was to
bring London’s West End to the North West of England, offering students the ability
to attend workshops led by industry professionals. The Company enjoyed success for
many years, however, when the claimant decided to move to London in 2020, to focus
on his performing and producing career, he was unable to find anyone to take over the
Company. Consequently, he closed it, and the Company was formally dissolved on 29
September 2020. In 2016, the claimant founded Sisco Entertainment Ltd (‘Sisco’), a
production company, specialising in the creation and execution of theatrical shows in
the UK and internationally.
3. The first defendant, Politicalite Ltd, is the publisher of an influential online news
publication Politicalite (www.politicalite.com) (‘the Website’), which is a popular
source of news and opinion for those in the entertainment and media industries in the
UK. The second defendant, Jordan Kendall, is the founder and sole director of the
first defendant, and Editor-in-Chief of the Website.
4. The claim arises from the defendants’ publication on the Website of an article on or
about 24 September 2022, written by Mr Kendall, with the headline “EXCLUSIVE:
Phillip Schofield and best pal Simon ‘groomed’ [X], claim Telly insiders” (‘the
Article’). I have not referred to X by name, as it would not be right to embed his name
in a public judgment in circumstances where he could have no recourse. X was a
student of the Company and someone the claimant knew through his previous
relationship with X’s sister. The claimant put it gently in explaining that this historic
link appears to have contributed to “some misconceptions or mixed-up stories and
speculation” about himself, Phillip Schofield and X.
5. The claimant has known Phillip Schofield for about 20 years, since they met when the
claimant joined the cast of Dr Dolittle, at the age of 16, playing the role of Tommy
Stubbins while Phillip Schofield held the title role of Dr Dolittle. Although they share
the same surname, they are not related. The claimant asked Phillip Schofield if he
would become “a Patron and what we called a ‘Famous Friend’ of the Company ”,
which he did. The role of the Company’s famous friends was to provide help, insight
and the benefit of their professional experience to the students. Phillip Schofield’s
role in the Company was limited to delivering one or more talks to the students when
he was in Manchester.
6. The natural and ordinary meaning of the Article was that:
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