Botham,Lamb lose libel case (2 Aug 1996)

02 August 1996

Botham, Lamb lose libel case

LONDON, Thursday (Reuter) _ Former England cricketers Ian Botham and Allan Lamb on Wednesday lost their libel action against ex- Pakistan captain Imran Khan.

Botham and Lamb sued Imran over an "offensive personal attack`` on them in India Today magazine which they said called them racist, uneducated and lacking class and upbringing, while Botham had sued over a May 1994 report in The Sun newspaper which he alleged falsely accused him of ball-tampering.

Imran, who denied libel, said his words were taken out of context. He declined comment as he left the courtroom on Wednesday with his pregnant wife Jemima.

"Darling, you were wonderful,`` she told him after the verdict.

The jury in the case failed to reach a unanimous verdict and had been told the court would accept a 10-2 majority decision, which was reached after five hours of deliberations.

Botham and Lamb will now have to pay costs estimated by legal sources to be up to 500,000 pounds ($750,000).

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)