Winning the PR war

It's good thing that Robert Murat has been awarded about £600,000 from eleven newspapers for libelling him over the Madeleine case. Roy Greenslade has argued that approximately £50,000 each is a tiny amount for the papers concerned.

But I don't think Murat has been vindicated, as he claims. Libel is saying something that can't be proved so winning a case doesn't necessarily prove anything. The BBC One O' Clock News ran an "exclusive" interview with Murat today. Like the McCann's, he has his own high-profile media advisor, Max Clifford. In the interview Murat spoke so much like Clifford it was obvious he has been coached by him. At one point, I wondered if Clifford had dressed up as Murat.

Note to lawyers: only joking.