Mark Lester

[DB7]

Oliver child actor wins payout from Daily Mail



* Oliver Luft



Mark Lester as Oliver in the 1968 Oscar-winning film of the same name



Mark Lester as Oliver in the 1968 Oscar-winning film of the same name. Photograph: Rex Features



The Daily Mail today apologised to former Oliver child actor Mark Lester at the high court and agreed to pay him a five-figure sum in damages.



The newspaper had printed allegations falsely accusing him of assaulting his ex-wife and allowing his son to sleep in the same bedroom as Michael Jackson.



An article about the break up of Lester's marriage, carried in the Daily Mail on March 1, falsely suggested he had violently assaulted his ex-wife several times during their relationship as well as allowing his three-year-old son to share a bedroom with his friend Michael Jackson.



David Price, a lawyer from David Price Solicitors & Advocates, representing Lester, told the high court in London the allegations were untrue.



Price added that Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers had agreed to pay him damages, understood to be a five-figure sum, and legal costs after he pursued a claim for libel.



"The claimant [Lester] was deeply hurt and upset by the article which was extremely damaging to his reputation both personally and professionally and which also caused immense distress to his children," Price said.



"He was not prepared to allow it to remain unchallenged and therefore brought this claim for libel."



Lindsay Hodgkinson, from law firm Reynold Porter Chamberlain, acting for Associated Newspapers, agreed that the allegations were untrue and offered an apology on behalf of her client.



Lester, who is now a practising osteopath running a clinic based in Cheltenham, did not attend today's hearing at the high court.



As a child in the 1960s and 1970s he starred in a number of films, most notably playing the title character in the 1968 film version of the musical Oliver, directed by Carol Reed.



The Daily Mail had not responded to a request for a comment at the time of publication.

[HelenD]

These papers know exactly what they are doing.



They know once printed that is what will stick. It will sell papers. They most likely earn huge amounts more then they end up paying in damages.



Helen

[cully]

The way to end this sort of thing...overnight?



Every time it happens and the plaintiff wins the judge says he will revert in a week with a damages ruling. The Lord Chancellor's office then asks a media expert to estimate how much the muckrakers "made" over the article(s). He gives a figure.



The judge doubles or trebles the figure in damages.



End of problem.

[wellpip]

Mark Lester is claiming to be the father of Jacko’s kid. The madness continues!!!





How does one go about this, invite a friend around for dinner and after the tea and coffee casually ask for some sperm as I fancy having a kid to ad to my collection of the weird and wonderful ?



BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Jackson friend claims paternity

[EllyMack]

Quite frankly, this doesn't surprise me. I've long believed 'his' kids weren't biologically his. I know there's a lot more to genetics than looks and that you can't just go by appearances, but none of the kids bear even a passing resemblance to Jacko.

[faginsgirl]

So who is the black lady who has got to be the mother, Paris is still dark skinned! I could take a damn good guess but even typing it would sound ridiculous!



The plot thickens



xx

[jaycad]

Quite frankly, this doesn't surprise me. I've long believed 'his' kids weren't biologically his. I know there's a lot more to genetics than looks and that you can't just go by appearances, but none of the kids bear even a passing resemblance to Jacko.

no one bears a passing resemblance to jacko!!! his sister latoya did for a while but the surgeon soon put pay to that!

mark lester being the father of his children wouldn't surprise me considering jacko's obsession with child actors and his need to control the media's perception of him being either a paedophile or homosexual! he was a very strange man to say the least!

[EllyMack]

So who is the black lady who has got to be the mother, Paris is still dark skinned! I could take a good guess but even typing it would sound ridiculous!

She's not that dark skinned. There are plenty of 'white' children with dark skin and straight hair in the world - a friend's daughter is Polish-Scottish and is often taken for Indian because of her dark hair and skin.



As I said, it's really just a hunch on my part, but I guess time will out, either way. Problem is, you can't believe anything you read in the press these days, especially when it's about big name celebs.

[EllyMack]

no one bears a passing resemblance to jacko!!!

I was, of course, referring to the 'original' Jacko - the one where he had dark brown skin and a fatter nose, like his brothers.

[jaycad]

So who is the black lady who has got to be the mother, Paris is still dark skinned! I could take a damn good guess but even typing it would sound ridiculous!



The plot thickens



xx

i wouldn't have put it past jacko to spray tan his kids when he knew they may be filmed-lets face it,he used to put blankets over them when they were babies!