Sacked S4C executive drops libel claim against Nation.Cymru

A former senior executive at S4C who was dismissed for gross misconduct following a drunken rant at a TV crew in France during the last Rugby World Cup has dropped a defamation claim against Nation.Cymru.

We reported in October 2023 how Llinos Griffin-Williams, the broadcaster’s chief content officer and a member of S4C’s unitary board, was sacked by its then chair Rhodri Williams following an investigation into her conduct at two locations in Nantes after the match on Saturday October 7 when Wales secured a place in the quarter final of the tournament after beating Georgia.

Well-placed and senior sources told Nation.Cymru how Ms Griffin-Williams and other S4C staff including its then chief executive Sian Doyle were at a concert venue in the French city.

One source told us at the time: “Whisper TV is the production company that has been providing S4C with Rugby World Cup coverage. The Whisper team was told to come to the Nantes concert venue even though they had been working since 8.30 in the morning and, as rugby fans themselves, wanted to watch the Ireland v Scotland match.

“When they got to the venue, Llinos Griffin-Williams was abusive towards members of the Whisper team. She was clearly very drunk and told them that they wouldn’t get any more contracts to make programmes for S4C. She went on to say that her job at S4C was to make sure that big production companies like Whisper got less work from the channel. Such a policy has not been approved by the unitary board.”

Confrontation

A source told us: “The Whisper team then left the venue to avoid further confrontation, taking a taxi to another location elsewhere in the city where other members of the Welsh media contingent were spending the evening. But Llinos Griffin-Williams and Sian Doyle turned up at the second location and Ms Griffin-Williams resumed her abusive comments.”

The source said that a number of people saw what happened and that news of the incident spread quickly in Welsh media circles. Concerns reached Mr Williams, who made further inquiries in a bid to substantiate what had happened and took legal advice from S4C’s external lawyers, the Cardiff legal practice Capital Law.

A source told us: “Llinos Griffin-Williams was dismissed for gross misconduct. She was drunk, which is contrary to S4C policy when working for S4C. Her behaviour in Nantes was also not what would be expected from a senior executive of the broadcaster.”

In May 2023 the S4C board had commissioned Capital Law to investigate serious bullying allegations made by members of staff at the Welsh language TV channel. Later in the year, following Ms Griffin-Williams’ dismissal, a report was produced containing numerous allegations of bullying against Ms Doyle, who was subsequently sacked. Ms Griffin-Williams was also accused of bullying behavior.”

Defamation

Under the Defamation Act 2013, complainants have 12 months after publication in which to initiate libel claims against news outlets. Ms Griffin-Williams served notice of a defamation claim against Nation.Cymru, and our associate editor Martin Shipton, who wrote the story, almost a year after it was published.

She used London solicitors Simons Muirhead Burton, who wrote to Nation.Cymru on behalf of their client, claiming she had not been drunk or abusive and demanding that we apologise and pay substantial damages. We rejected their demands and stood by our story.

In October 2024, Simons Muirhead Burton entered a claim against us and Martin Shipton in the High Court in London. Under the court rules, Ms Griffin-Williams had four months to serve writs against us otherwise the action would lapse. Simons Muirhead Burton did not serve the writs before the deadline and the action has now lapsed.

Confident

Nation.Cymru CEO Mark Mansfield said: “We were confident the story was accurate and would not have published it without being sure that was the case.

“Many people witnessed Ms Griffin-Williams behaviour in Nantes that evening and were shocked by it. News of what had happened spread very quickly. Many news outlets that are much bigger than us ran the story, yet Ms Griffin-Williams did not seek to sue them. We strongly believe she came after us because she thought that as a relatively small news outlet without the resources of a big media group we would cave in to her demands. She was wrong.

“One element of this that was particularly outrageous was the threat to sue Martin Shipton personally. The practice of suing individual journalists is known as SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation). It’s used by wealthy and powerful people to silence critics and suppress news which they don’t want in the public domain, not to pursue justice.

“We regard Ms Griffin-Williams’ decision not to pursue the action against us as a vindication of our decision to publish the story in the first place. We were determined not to be intimidated.”

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued guidance which states: “Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are a misuse of the legal system, through bringing or threatening claims that are unmeritorious or characterised by abusive tactics, in order to stifle lawful scrutiny and publication, including on matters of corruption or wrongdoing.”