Pink Floyd co-founder libel battle could go to trial after High Court ruling

A High Court libel claim against the co-founder of rock band Pink Floyd could go to trial after he accused a documentary maker of “cheerleading the genocide of the Palestinian people” in Gaza.

Roger Waters is being sued for libel by John Ware over comments made in an episode of the Al Jazeera programme The Stream, in which the musician also described Mr Ware as a “pro-Zionist, pro-genocider”.

Mr Ware denies the comments and is also suing the channel as part of the legal action.

Mr Waters’ comments came in response to a documentary made and presented by the journalist for the campaign group Campaign Against Antisemitism, entitled The Dark Side Of Roger Waters, which sought to “examine the evidence for the charge that Roger Waters is an antisemite”.

In a judgment on Tuesday, Mrs Justice Eady said it was agreed that the statements “are defamatory of the claimant at common law”.

She also ruled on several preliminary issues in the case, including the “natural and ordinary” meanings of the posts and whether they were statements of fact or opinion.

A further hearing in the case could now be heard at a later date.

The court heard earlier in February that the first version of the broadcast at the centre of the legal claim was presented by Anelise Borges, who introduced it as a “conversation” with “one of the world’s most outspoken musicians”.

The first version was aired by Al Jazeera on February 15 and 16 last year, with a second version airing on February 17 and uploaded to its YouTube channel until May 1, when it was removed.

Both versions lasted about 25 minutes, and the court in London was told that while the “cheerleading” comment was removed from the second version, the “pro-genocider” allegation remained.

Mr Waters also described the documentary as “a complete joke” and said he had “nothing but utter contempt” for Mr Ware, the court heard.

William Bennett KC, for Mr Ware, said in court that the allegations were “utterly emphatic” and included Mr Waters calling the journalist a “well-known, lying, conniving Zionist mouthpiece”.

In written submissions, he added that Mr Ware’s documentary was not said to have included “anything adverse about the Palestinians which could be interpreted as showing that Mr Ware was in favour of their genocide, a genocide cheerleader and so on”.

Adam Wolanski KC, for Mr Waters, told the court that the statements were “very trenchant” but that “people already knew” about the musician’s views on Israel.

In written submissions, he added: “It is self-evident from Mr Waters’ words and demeanour that he sees Mr Ware’s attack on him, labelling him an anti-semite, as an attack on his political stance on Palestine.”

Jane Phillips, for Al Jazeera, said that viewers were “immediately told that these are Mr Waters’ strong opinions”.