Damages for Greens deputy over false disorder claims

A TV presenter and a social media commentator have apologised and will pay damages to the deputy leader of the Green Party after wrongly suggesting he participated in disorder.

Mothin Ali, a councillor on Leeds City Council, attended the 2024 Harehills unrest to assist police and appeal for calm, but posts on social media accused him of taking part in the trouble, the High Court heard.

Ali sued GB News presenter Alex Armstrong and social media commentator Bernadette Spofforth for defamation over posts on X. Both have apologised and agreed to pay "substantial damages".

Speaking outside court, Ali said: "The harm is already done. The smears leave their stench, even when proven to be false."

Trouble erupted in Harehills on the evening of 18 July 2024 after police helped social workers who were taking four children into emergency foster care.

Hundreds of people took to the streets, with a police car flipped over and a double-decker bus torched.

"I tried my absolute best to calm tensions, to protect police officers," said Ali, who has been deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since 2025.

"I stayed on the scene to calm rioters and to reassure residents while buses burned. I stayed there to limit the damage, to limit the harm to my community.