Abdulhadi Mana Al-Hajri, owner of The Ritz Hotel in London has instructed his lawyers to bring immediate legal proceedings against The Times following publication this morning of wholly false allegations linking him to the supposed funding of extremism in Syria.
The libel claim will be brought in the High Court in London and will name newspaper. Substantial damages will be sought, together with an injunction prohibiting further publication of the libellous allegations.
Speaking this morning, a spokesman for Mr Al-Hajri said:
“There is absolutely no truth in these allegations. Mr Al-Hajri has never participated – directly or indirectly – in the funding of any form of terrorism or extremism, whether relating to Syria or otherwise. The Times is aware of this but has proceeded to publish nonetheless, allowing itself to become part of a politically-motivated project intended to discredit Qatari interests. It must now face the consequences of this”.
The libel claim will be issued by Mr Al-Hajri’s lawyers at Carter-Ruck. For further information, please contact Cameron Doley at [email protected] or on + 44 (0)207 353 5005.