British paper admits to libel

A British newspaper apologized to film producer Steve Bing Wednesday and admitted it falsely accused him of orchestrating a campaign of defamation against actress Elizabeth Hurley, the mother of his son.

Associated Newspapers Ltd., Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre and journalist Daniel Jeffreys had agreed to apologize to Bing and to Los Angeles attorney Martin Singer, Bing’s lawyer, Nathalie Paterson, told the High Court in London. The defendants also agreed to pay “substantial sums” to British children’s charities.

Bing has admitted being the father of Hurley’s son, Damian Charles, who was born in April 2002. Some British tabloids were critical of him after he initially expressed doubt that he was the father. The libel action arose from an article published in the Daily Mail in December 2001, which alleged that Bing and Singer organized a campaign against Hurley.