Businessman and Conservative Party donor suing one former Conservative MP for defamation told a judge in the Supreme Court why he decided not to take legal action against another.
Mohamed Amersi accused Charlotte Leslie, former MP for Bristol North West, of publishing a “series of documents” to a number of “influential individuals” and slandering him.
He told mr. Judge Nicklin, who oversaw a pre-trial hearing in London’s High Court on Monday, said he had decided not to “start legal action” against Sir Nicholas Soames, a former mid-Sussex MP.
Mr Amersi suggested that one reason was that a former parliamentary colleague had “discouraged” him because of Sir Nicholas’ “proximity to the Prince of Wales”.
One of Mr Amersi’s lawyers said in a written witness statement to the judge that Miss Leslie had published documents between December 2020 and mid-January 2021.
Nigel Tait said “publications complained about” make “serious” and “false” allegations about Mr Amersi’s “business and personal life”.
Lawyers representing Miss Leslie have indicated that she disputes claims made against her.
Mr Amersi said in a written witness statement to the judge how he also knew Sir Nicholas had sent a “document or documents” to Ben Elliot, co-chair of the Conservative Party.
He said he had decided for several reasons not to ‘initiate legal action’ against Sir Nicholas, grandson of former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
Mr Amersi said it was his belief that Sir Nicholas had been “misled” by Miss Leslie and was not the “individual” to be held “responsible” for the “publications complained of”.
He told the judge that Sir Hugo Swire, former Conservative MP for East Devon, “also discouraged me from starting proceedings against Sir Nicholas” because of Sir Nicholas’ “proximity to the Prince of Wales”.
Mr Amersi said he supported Charles’ “many charitable initiatives”.
He also said that Bahrain’s ambassador Sheikh Fawaz had suggested that “his king” would be “very upset” if Sir Nicholas was summoned.
Mr Amersi also sued the Conservative Middle East Council – of which Miss Leslie is the director.
The judge heard that Mr Amersi was the founder of Conservative Friends of the Middle East and North Africa (COMENA).
Mr Amersi told the judge in his witness statement that he knew “Sir Nicholas Soames had sent a document or documents to Mr Elliot”.
He explained the “context” in which he decided not to take legal action against Sir Nicholas.
“It seems to me that the accused are insinuating … that they are the defendants of these proceedings because they are an easier target,” he said.
“It was my conviction (and remains my conviction) that Sir Nicholas (Miss) was led by (Miss Leslie) and therefore, although he should have carried out his own independent fact-checking, he is not the individual to be held responsible for the publications. what is being complained about. ”
Mr Amersi added: “Sheikh Fawaz drew my attention … that if I ever sued Sir Nicholas, his king would be ‘very upset’ because the King of Bahrain and Sir Nicholas were attending the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst together. .
“I understand from my lawyers, following their research, that Sir Nicholas and the King of Bahrain both actually attended the Mons officer cadet school which closed in 1972, with his responsibilities then being transferred to the Royal Military Academy. of Sandhurst.
“It has been made clear to me that suing Sir Nicholas would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the Bahrain government to ever link up with COMENA.”
He continued: “Eventually Sir Hugo Swire also discouraged me from starting proceedings against Sir Nicholas because of the latter’s proximity to the Prince of Wales (whose many charitable initiatives I support).”
Judge Nicklin on Monday ruled on a number of legal issues.
He will oversee a further trial later in the year.
Judge Nicklin was told that people who allegedly gave Miss Leslie information include: former MP Sir David Lidington, MP Julian Lewis, MP Crispin Blunt, former MP Sir Alan Duncan and Sheikh Fawaz.
Mr Amersi later said in a statement: “This litigation concerns (Miss) Leslie’s publication of a number of documents to a number of high profile and influential recipients.
“I know the names of some of those recipients.”
He added: “During the interim hearing today, I was hoping that the judge would order the disclosure of the identities of those anonymous recipients.
“Instead, he ordered that I first set out the serious damage to the said recipients that had caused my reputation through the publication.”
He continued: “… I am glad that the judge decided that the question of whether and to what extent the publications to those mentioned seriously harmed my reputation should be dealt with as the next step.
“It makes a lot of sense and I hope to speed things up.”