‘Wish Her Well Lol’ — Brexit Russiagate Journo Loses Final Appeal, Forced to Pay Arron Banks’ Legal Costs

The curtain has finally called on “Russia, Russia, Russia” in Britain as the Supreme Court shot down the final appeal from Brexit-Russiagate journalist Carole Cadwalladr, who will now have to cover the legal costs of Leave.EU founder Arron Banks for his libel suit against her.

After years of court wrangling, Carole Cadwalladr, of the left-wing Guardian’s sister Observer newspaper, has run out of legal rope. Earlier this year, Brexit’s business tycoon backer Arron Banks partially won a libel case against the establishment reporter, being granted £35,000 in damages over her unfounded assertions that Banks had a clandestine connection to the Russian government.

In addition to the damages, Cadwalladr was also ordered to pay 60 per cent of Banks’ legal costs, which reportedly meant that she would owe the Brexiteer around £1 million, a decision that she launched multiple appeals against.

However, this week the Supreme Court shot down her final appeal, finding that the “proposed appeal does not raise an arguable point of law“ and that there was nothing to suggest that the Court of Appeal “erred in principle or exercised its discretion in an unreasonable manner”.

Claiming that the libel lawsuit brought against her by Banks was somehow an attack on the free press, Cadwalladr launched crowdfunders to help her cover the payments to the Brexit campaigner. While she seems to have raised enough funds to pay Banks, it is unclear if the fundraiser was enough to cover her own costs during the case, which began in 2019.

Much like in the United States following the election of Donald Trump to the White House in 2016, establishment forces in Britain attempted to smear the populist Brexit movement as a result of nefarious Russian interference and collusion. Failed presidential candidate, and the driving force behind the Russia conspiracy against Trump, Hillary Clinton even waded into the fray across the pond to accuse Brexit boss Nigel Farage of being funded by Moscow.

Yet, despite the efforts from pro-EU figures including Cadwalladr to brand Brexiteers such as Mr Banks as having a “covert relationship with Russia,” evidence of such conspiracy theories — as with Donald Trump — ultimately failed to materialise. 

Even the notoriously anti-Brexit Electoral Commission, and the National Crime Agency were both forced to admit that there was no evidence of any criminal activity committed by Banks or that the Brexit campaign had taken Russian “dark money”, as had been alleged in the establishment media.

Responding to the final legal decision in the Russiagate saga, Banks wrote on social media: “[Cadwalladr] was found guilty of defamation and ordered to pay most of my costs. Total vindication. Meanwhile, she raised a shedload of money from gullible Remain fans. Good night Vienna!”

Commenting to Breitbart London, former Leave.EU communications director and close confidant of Banks, Andy Wigmore blithely said of their longtime antagonist: “I wish her well LOL”.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: kzindulka@breitbart.com