TV presenter Dr Christian Jessen has been ordered by a judge at the High Court in Belfast to pay damages of £125,000 to Arlene Foster.
The former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) sued Dr Jessen for defamation over a tweet he posted making an unfounded claim that she was having an extra-marital affair.
Delivering his judgment at the High Court in Belfast this morning, Mr Justice McAlinden said the tweet had caused Ms Foster “humiliation, embarrassment and hurt.”
He added: “It is an outrageous libel concerning an individual of considerable standing, attacking her integrity at the most fundamental level, and it involves the trashing in a very public fashion of the relationship that Ms Foster holds dearest in her life.
“It affected core aspects of her life, namely her relationship with her husband, her deep Christian faith, it called into question her fitness and suitability to occupy the office of first minister at a time when delicate negotiations were continuing on the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland Executive.”
As well at the £125,000…
