Chris Packham wins libel claim over ‘tiger fraud’ allegations

Statement and interview with Chris Packham outside the Royal Courts of Justice, after the television presenter won his High Court libel claim over denied allegations he misled the public into donating to a wildlife charity to rescue “broken” tigers from a circus. The TV naturalist sued three men for libel over nine articles which included claims he “manipulated” people into donating to rescue five tigers while knowing the animals were well looked after. The strongly denied allegations, repeated in several tweets and videos, related to Mr Packham’s involvement with the Wildheart Trust, which runs a wildlife sanctuary on the Isle of Wight. Dominic Wightman, editor of the online site Country Squire Magazine, defended the libel claim along with writer Nigel Bean and a third man, Paul Read.