The key allegations against Noel Clarke – and the judge’s response

Published

3 months ago

August 23, 2025

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Multiple witnesses gave evidence about their experiences of working with Noel Clarke during his libel trial – including women who had “nothing to gain and everything to lose”, say the Guardian journalists who carried out the investigation.

Before the newspaper published its report on allegations of inappropriate behaviour and sexual misconduct in 2021, Clarke was a huge success story in the UK film and TV industry – the acclaimed filmmaker behind Kidulthood, star of hit shows including Doctor Who and Bulletproof, and recipient of a BAFTA rising star award and another for his contribution to British cinema.

Clarke denied any allegations of inappropriate behaviour or sexual misconduct, and in 2022 he sued the publishers of the newspaper for libel.

Following a trial earlier this year, a High Court judge, Mrs Justice Steyn, has now dismissed his claim, finding the meaning of the newspaper’s report and other subsequent articles it published was “substantially true”.

The trial heard evidence from multiple witnesses, including some women whose real names were not used. Their accusations against the actor and filmmaker included claims of inappropriate comments, sharing nude photographs without consent, and groping.

Here are some of the key allegations – and the judge’s response.

‘Maya’

An actress known as “Maya” worked on one production with Clarke and also auditioned for another, the judge said.

She alleged she had been subject to comments and looks from Clarke, and felt pressured to be naked during a scene for a TV programme.

Recording of a phone call between Clarke and the actress was heard in court, including conversation about this scene.

“It was an uncomfortable experience,” Maya said in the call. “We were rehearsing the romantic scene… I didn’t say anything to you. I felt pressured to be naked from you in that scene.”

Clarke said in court that he believed she was “acting” on the call ahead of making allegations against him.

In her ruling, Mrs Justice Steyn found Maya had been “sexually harassed, pressured and touched” by Clarke without her consent.

“It is apparent that he was insensitive to the discomfort he provoked,” the judge said. “But as is clear from his comments in the recorded phone call, and from the evidence generally, Mr Clarke would habitually, and lasciviously, look young, attractive women up and down.”

Floor runner

One woman who worked as a floor runner said her experience of working with Clarke was “extremely unpleasant” and that he was “rude and continuously belittling” towards her from the outset, according to court documents.

She said Clarke did not behave the same way towards another male runner and that she “dreaded being alone” with him as she would be “routinely undermined”. She said she became “extremely anxious” and had her first panic attack during filming when “Noel was ignoring my instructions and I couldn’t carry out my job”, which she described as humiliating.

The judge found she gave “clear, honest and reliable evidence”, and added: “She was a young woman, in a far subordinate role, who he singled out for this belittling and bullying treatment. It is probable that he acted in this way for no other reasons than that he had the power to do so, and he found it amusing.”

‘Penelope’

One actress, known as “Penelope”, said she worked on a sex scene with Clarke and that they discussed “perhaps wearing patches or covers”, but Noel was “insistent that he didn’t think this would work and said he wanted to ‘keep it natural’.”

In her witness statement, Penelope said she begged him to stop asking her to look at him while he was exposed and to allow others back into the room.

She said she felt “disgusted, shocked and frightened”, and concerned that he had “created an impression to the crew that I was complicit in whatever was happening behind that closed door”.

In her ruling, the judge said she found Penelope to be an honest witness and found it was not necessary for her to be naked from the waist down for the scene.

She added: “I have not found that the requirement for ‘Penelope’ to be naked below the waist for the filming of the sex scene was introduced for Mr Clarke’s sexual gratification, but he did then take advantage of it for that purpose.”

‘Imogen’

Clarke invited an actress known as “Imogen” to dinner in 2014, when she was 20, the trial heard.

Imogen alleged he propositioned her for sex and offered to take photos, and also talked about going to brothels and tried to kiss her on the street after the meal.

He looked “furious” when she avoided his kiss, she claimed.

Her account was “honest”, and save for a few minor points, “it was also reliable and accurate”, the judge found.

‘Mila’

Another actress known as “Mila” described taking part in a scene that required nudity from the waist down.

During the shoot, he also told her to bend over, asked her to sit on his lap, and made inappropriate sexual comments, she said.

Again, the judge found she had “no reason to lie”.

While Clarke denied the allegations, the judge concluded The Guardian had, save for a couple of points, proved its case in respect of Mila.

Gina Powell

Gina Powell was part of Clarke’s production company, Unstoppable, between 2014 and 2017.

She alleges he groped her in a lift, exposed himself to her in a car, and brushed off concerns about his sexual behaviour towards other women. He also kept naked pictures of others, she claimed.

Ms Powell told the court she had been through years of “guilt” watching how Clarke behaved with other women, which led to her speaking out.

The judge found that on one occasion where Clarke pinched Ms Powell’s bottom when they were being photographed, “his intent was not sexual”, and it was “intended as a friendly and jocular attempt to provoke a startled expression”.

However, she also ruled that Ms Powell was “an honest, reliable” witness and accepted the filmmaker had shown her nude photographs, as well as her evidence on what happened in the car and lift.

‘Ivy’

One woman, known only as “Ivy”, said in a witness statement that she had had a brief relationship with Clarke, while he was married, and alleged she later discovered he had shared nude photographs of her without her consent.

Ivy said she was “horrified” to discover later that the private images had been shown to others.

“Trusting him, I consensually sent him a small number of nude photos of myself,” she said. “I expressly told him that he should not show them to anyone… I believed that he would respect that.”

The court heard evidence from others who corroborated her account.

The judge, in her ruling, found The Guardian had established Clarke “revealed naked photographs” of Ivy without her consent and shared them with others.

Jing Lusi

Actress Jing Lusi, known for films including Crazy Rich Asians and series including Gangs Of London and Red Eye, worked with Clarke on the film SAS: Red Notice, which was filmed in Budapest in 2018.

She said that during a dinner, he suggested to her that they could do a read-through of the script in his “bed” or “bedroom”.

He also told her he had “fantasised” about her and described what he wanted to do to her, in a separate incident, she alleged. She said this left her feeling “disgusted”.

Clarke denied her allegations.

In her ruling, Mrs Justice Steyn said that while she accepted Ms Lusi’s account, she did find that in circumstances where Clarke’s behaviour towards her was not an abuse of power, “the events described did not assist the Guardian in establishing the truth defence”.

UK

Scotland secure men’s World Cup spot for first time since 1998 after beating Denmark

Published

2 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Scotland secure men's World Cup spot for first time since 1998 after beating Denmark

Scotland secured a place at the men’s World Cup for the first time since 1998 as stoppage-time goals by Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean secured a thrilling 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden Park.

Scott McTominay’s spectacular third-minute bicycle kick had given the hosts a half-time lead.

Rasmus Hojlund equalised for the Danes in the 57th minute shortly before Rasmus Kristensen was sent off, but Lawrence Shankland restored Scotland’s advantage.

When Patrick Dorgu brought Denmark level again with nine minutes remaining, it seemed they would claim the point needed to top the group and book their place at next year’s tournament in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

However, Tierney fired an unstoppable shot past Kasper Schmeichel in the third minute of stoppage time

And then, with the Denmark goalkeeper up in attack at the other end of the pitch, McLean hit a long-range effort from his own half to spark delirious scenes.

The victory saw Scotland top Group C and secure automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Head coach Steve Clarke had already led his country to back-to-back European Championships.

He told the BBC: “Scott McTominay scored the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen, and it might not have been the best goal of the night!”

Scotland captain Andy Robertson dedicated the victory to his former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota, who died earlier this year in a car accident.

He told the BBC: “We certainly put the country through it, but I’m sure it will be worth it.”

“I couldn’t get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today,” he added. We spoke so much together about the World Cup. When he missed out in Qatar through injury and I missed out when Scotland never went.

“We always discussed what it would be like going to this World Cup. I know he’ll be somewhere smiling over me tonight.”

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on 5 December.

UK

Best and worst parcel delivery companies revealed

Published

2 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Best and worst parcel delivery companies revealed

The best and worst delivery companies have been revealed in new research by Citizens Advice.

According to a survey carried out for the report, a record 15 million people experienced a problem with their latest delivery – more than one in three of those surveyed.

Yodel came last in a league table compiled by the charity, with a score of two out of five stars.

Royal Mail scored the highest at 3.25 out of five stars. Amazon Logistics came second with three stars, followed by DPD and Evri, which both got 2.25.

Citizens Advice’s league table measured the companies’ performance based on customer service, delivery issues and how well they met accessibility needs.

The most common issues people faced with their last delivery included the driver leaving before they had time to get to the door (29%), their parcel being left in an insecure location (24%), and parcels arriving late (24%).

The charity pointed to regulator Ofcom introducing guidance on complaints and accessibility in 2023, but said its research showed many parcel firms were still “ignoring the rules”.

‘Tougher action needed’

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “We continue to see millions of people chasing lost parcels, having their accessibility needs ignored and hitting a brick wall when they try to complain.

“The question now is whether the regulator will take tougher action to improve the parcel market once and for all.”

In response, Ofcom said in a statement to Sky News: “We have a strong track record of holding parcel firms to account on behalf of the public.

“That has involved tracking people’s experiences of parcel deliveries for over a decade, and, as a result, introducing strengthened regulations on parcel firms in 2023.

“Under these rules, postal operators must have a simple and transparent complaints process in place, and have clear and effective policies and procedures for the fair treatment of disabled customers.

“While overall satisfaction is reasonably high at 78%, people’s experiences can vary depending on which parcel company delivers their package, and we’re continuing to press operators to make further improvements.

“We’ll also continue to work with Citizens Advice – as the statutory consumer advocate for post – to achieve our shared goal of ensuring consumers receive a reliable service, whichever company is used.”

Accessibility found to be the worst performing area

Mike, in his 70s, has muscular dystrophy and relies on two walking sticks. He has asked delivery firms not to leave parcels at his front door as he struggles to get there in time.

He instead asks them to deliver to his back door, which is closer to his home office and easier for him to reach. But Citizens Advice says companies ignore his requests.

It results in parcels often being misdelivered or left exposed to the weather.

“It makes you awfully frustrated, and it makes you really fed up, to the point that I’m beginning to stop buying from retailers that use certain delivery companies,” Mike said.

“I had one delivery agent chuck a parcel over the back gate on to the concrete floor, who said he’d handed it to the resident. I had the video showing him throwing it over the back gate then taking a picture saying he’d delivered it.”

What have the delivery companies said in response?

Amazon:

“Every day at Amazon, incredible employees and independent delivery partners come together to provide fast, reliable and safe delivery for our customers.

“The vast majority of deliveries make it to customers without issue. In the rare case something occurs, we work with customers directly to make it right.”

Royal Mail:

“We are pleased Royal Mail came first in the Citizens Advice parcels league table for the fourth year running.

“Since last year, we’ve made great strides in providing customers with the most convenient options for sending, returning and collecting parcels.

“Aside from delivering to every home in the UK, we offer the UK’s largest out-of-home network including shops, lockers and parcel post boxes, all introduced to ensure we’re the nearest and simplest choice for our customers.”

Evri:

“Every parcel matters, and it is great to receive independent recognition from Citizens Advice of the progress we are already making on service.

“This comes at a time when we have grown significantly in scale to deliver over 900 million parcels a year and follows sustained investments of £57m in operations and technology supporting service improvements over the past 12 months.

“That said, we have further improvements planned and know we have more to do.

“By listening to feedback and investing in the right tools, systems, and training, we have been able to make tangible improvements for our customers as we remain focused on building further trust and consistency across each delivery.

“We are also the only UK parcel carrier to commit to accessibility improvements and since we partnered with disability equality charity Scope in October 2024 improvements include enhanced doorstep and website delivery options, with 90,000 customers already setting accessibility preferences on their Evri account.”

Yodel and DPD did not respond to requests for comment from Sky News.

Citizens Advice said between August and September, Opinium Research conducted an online survey of 8,000 adults who received a parcel in the last month from Royal Mail, DPD, Yodel, Amazon Logistics or Evri.

The data was weighted to be nationally representative of those that had received a parcel from one of those five companies in the last month.

UK

Council facing urgent questions over deaths of two more teens

Published

2 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Council facing urgent questions over deaths of two more teens

Two more teenagers who were in the care of Barnet Council have died since the death of 18-year-old Nonita Grabovskyte – prompting urgent questions over whether vital lessons were delayed.

Both were 18-year-old care leavers and died in December 2024 and January 2025 – just over a year after Nonita took her own life on 28 December 2023, the north London council said.

Their names have not yet been released while families are being informed, but confirmation of the deaths means three care-experienced young people connected to Barnet have now died in the space of 13 months.

It raises serious concerns about what the council learned from Nonita’s case and whether earlier action to publish and implement changes could have prevented further loss of life.

Nonita’s death – investigated in the Sky News documentary Unseen: A Girl Called Nonita – featured critical failings in the transition between children’s and adult services.

The coroner later described an “absence of coordinated transition” during the most vulnerable moment in her life.

Despite that, Sky News has learned that a joint learning review into the deaths of Nonita and the second young person, known only as Young Person E, was completed in February.

But publication was delayed for almost a year, until after the conclusion of Nonita’s inquest in October.

The inquest process is under way for the most recent death – Young Person R – with a review expected to be launched, a council spokesperson said.

The timing has led to growing scrutiny over whether lessons were identified on paper but not acted on quickly enough to protect others.

Oversight of learning reviews sits with the Barnet Safeguarding Children Partnership, which includes the police, NHS, and council.

Barnet Council says the delayed learning review into the deaths of Nonita and the second young person will finally be presented to the safeguarding partnership on 27 November, after which its findings will be published.

An inquest into the most recent death is scheduled for February.

We’ll learn lessons, says council leader

Council leader Barry Rawlings said: “We’re sorry for what happened. We do realise there have been some failures by different agencies, including the council.

“It shouldn’t happen, and we need to learn from that.

“It’s a complete tragedy, obviously you wish these things don’t happen. But as I said, the only thing we can do is to learn proper lessons from it. It’s happened. I can’t stop it.

“We’ll do we can to stop a similar thing happening again. That is the important thing. And that’s what my focus is on, the future.”

Hundreds of young people who grew up in care have died in England since 2020, according to figures obtained by Sky News.

Sky News analysis found 91 care leavers aged 16 to 25 died in the past year alone – nearly two every week.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is currently in parliament, intended to improve children’s social care.

Campaigners have criticised the bill, saying it does not go far enough to prevent the deaths of young people in the system. But the government is resisting calls to make amendments.

Local authorities in England are now spending more than £14bn a year on children’s social care – that includes foster care, children’s homes, safeguarding, and support for care leavers.