by Thursday 01, August 1996
Imran hits out after admitting ball-tampering, says QC
LONDON, Wednesday (AFP) - Imran Khan hit out at Ian Botham be-
cause he was horrified at the publicity given to his own confes-
sion of ball-tampering, the High Court was told here by Charles
Gray QC, on Tuesday.
Gray, for Botham and Lamb, said: "We say he is not the fair-
minded balanced observer of the cricketing scene, he would have
you believe, but someone who loses no opportunity to denigrate
and humiliate Ian Botham".
Botham and his former England team mate Allan Lamb are suing Im-
ran over an "offensive personal attack" on them in India Today
magazine which, they say, called them racist, uneducated and
lacking class and upbringing.
Botham alone is suing over a May 1994 report in The Sun which he
alleges accused him of ball-tampering -- something he says he has
never done.
Imran, who denies libel, says his words were taken out of context
and he was only trying to defend himself.
Mr. Gray, in his closing speech, told the jury that the ex-
Pakistani skipper's only defence of qualified privilege fell "at
every hurdle".
It failed because the articles by the two former England players,
to which Imran responded, were justifiable and because Imran's
"counter-attack" went way beyond self-defence.
Most of all, Imran was malicious in that the allegations of ra-
cism and ball-tampering did not stem from an honest belief, said
the QC.
He asked the jury to consider Imran's review of Botham's auto-
biography, in which he took "every opportunity to nit-pick" and
introduce jibes at his expense.
On the question of damages, he described racism as a "grave li-
bel" whereas ball-tampering amounted to the very serious charge
of cheating.
Any award could be aggravated by the absence of an apology and
the conduct of the defence over the ball-tampering allegation.
Mr. Gray added that his clients did not want an "extravagant
award".
What Botham and Lamb always wanted, he maintained, was "to vindi-
cate their reputations and indicate there is not an iota of truth
in the allegations".
The jury are likely to make their decision on Wednesday.
Thanks :: The Daily News (Sri Lanka) and
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