BBC presenter Stephen Nolan sues journalist over claims made in articles last year

Legal firm WP Tweed & Co confirmed that legal proceedings had been issued against both The Irish News and the journalist who wrote the story, Enniskillen-based Rodney Edwards.

Mr Edwards had recently been appointed editor of Co Fermanagh newspaper The Impartial Reporter at the time the articles were published in The Irish News. The Belfast Telegraph has approached Mr Edwards for comment.

Following the publication of the articles, Mr Nolan issued an apology for an incident involving an explicit photograph, but said claims the show placed staff members in the audience were “categorically false”.

“There have been other headlines, too, including a suggestion that we manipulate programmes by planting producers in the studio audience,” he told listeners to The Nolan Show last year.

“I’m telling you now and I can say this on the record. That is completely categorically false.

“We do not do that in the Nolan team. We value our relationship with you far too much to compromise it.”

A BBC spokesperson at the time said they had “established and robust processes” in place to deal with workplace-related concerns and allegations.

“We can confirm that the director of BBC Northern Ireland, Adam Smyth, has asked the editor of The Irish News to withdraw the claims that it had made about BBC staff contributing to Nolan Live discussions whilst pretending to be members of the public,” they said. “He said the BBC had asked several times for evidence to support allegations of audience deception and that nothing had been forthcoming.

“Adam Smyth said these claims, and the terms in which they were made, had effectively impugned the integrity of many BBC staff.

“He said that in the continued absence of evidence, The Irish News should withdraw what it had said and publish a correction and apology.”