19 Nov 2018

Colin Craig to appeal defamation decision

6:52 pm on 19 November 2018

Colin Craig will appeal the High Court decision in his defamation case against Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater.

Colin Craig presents his defamation case against former press secretary Rachel MacGregor in the High Court in Auckland.

Colin Craig presents his defamation case against former press secretary Rachel MacGregor in the High Court in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook

In his judgment, released last month, Justice Toogood found that Mr Craig was defamed by Mr Slater, but not all of the former Conservative Party's claims were successful.

Justice Toogood didn't award damages, because he said any reputational demage Mr Craig suffered resulted almost entirely from his own actions.

The judge also found that Mr Craig was guilty of moderately serious sexual harassment of his former press secretary, Rachel MacGregor.

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that Mr Craig's appeal has been lodged.

Mr Craig sued Mr Slater for posts he made on his Whale Oil blog about Mr Craig and his relationship with Ms MacGregor.

Mr Slater counter-sued Mr Craig for statements he made in a leaflet sent out to 1.6 million households around the country in 2015.

It was one of a number of legal proceedings launched in relation to the fallout from the 2014 election campaign, and Ms MacGregor's sudden resignation.

In September, Mr Craig's defamation case against Ms MacGregor went to trial in the High Court in Auckland.

Justice Hinton has reserved her decision in that proceeding.

Mr Craig's defamation case involving the founder of the Taxpayers' Union, Jordan Williams, has made it all the way to the Supreme Court.

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