A TV chef has been ordered to pay tens of thousands of pounds after publishing a defamatory letter directed at a millionaire company boss.
Gary McClure has apologised after being taken to court by CGP boss Richard Parsons, who made a £115million fortune from best-selling GCSE study guides.
The Broughton chef, who has appeared in television shows such as The Generation Game and Weekend Escapes, published the letter on Facebook and sent it to other community members via messenger in November 2020.
The High Court in London has since handed down the judgment against Mr McClure for defamation, ordering him to issue an apology on his Facebook page from July 1.
He was further ordered to pay damages and legal fees of around £70,000.
The court also placed a strict injunction on Mr McClure against further defamation of Mr Parsons.
CGP has barred Mr McClure from entering all of its premises including The Square Café, Market Street Filling Station and The Black Cock Inn and The Prince of Wales which are both currently closed for refurbishment.
READ MORE: Broughton family directed harassment campaign at CGP's Richard Parsons
The publishing company said online: “We cannot put our staff in the difficult position of either removing Mr McClure from the premises or finding themselves in breach of the order.”
Gary McClure, who is known as ‘The Cooking Cowboy’, shared an apology on his Facebook page following the court judgment, writing: “In November 2020 I published a copy of a letter containing a number of false and defamatory allegations about Mr Richard Parsons. I apologise for having done so.”
Speaking to this paper, Mr McClure said he regrets publishing the letter, claiming he shared it as a ‘bit of fun’.
He said: “I do regret sharing the letter. I shared it as a bit of fun. I’m sure millionaires get this day in and day out.
“I am born and bred in Broughton and now I can’t go to the pub, shop or garage because he owns everything. I’m being pushed out of the village. I have people that supported me all the way through this.”
A CGP spokeswoman said that Mr McClure is still able to visit the Old King's Head and the Post Office in Broughton.
Mr McClure added that he will be unable to pay any of the court-ordered sum of £70,000 due to being declared bankrupt.
He said: “I don’t have any money; I don’t own anything. I have gone into personal liquidation.”
A CGP spokeswoman said that Mr Parsons has made it clear in writing to Mr McClure that he does not require the 70k to be paid all at once, in order to avoid Mr McClure going bankrupt.
The case against Mr McClure follows on from another judgment issued in December 2022 against three members of the Garnett family - Elizabeth, her husband Allan, and their daughter Katie Armistead - for defamation and harassment directed at Mr Parsons.
Legal action was launched after a series of anonymous ‘poison pen’ letters surfaced in Broughton – where CGP’s head office is located - between 2018 and 2020.
According to court documents, ‘unpleasant and abusive’ anonymous communications alleged Mr Parsons to be an adulterer, sexual exploiter and predatory abuser of vulnerable women.
The Garnetts had been long-standing tenant farmers of Mr Parsons, with a history of ‘friction and grievance’ between them, according to High Court documents.
The Garnetts had conducted a long-running 'poison pen' campaign against Mr Parsons, in which Mr McClure actively took part, CGP said.
Mrs Justice Collins Rice said the harassment was ‘persistent… involved unpleasant and humiliating allegations published to those close to Mr Parsons, involved his wife and children, threatened further publication and, especially, that in classic anonymous poison-pen style it left him wondering and worrying about its origins and extent, and about the future turns the campaign might take.’
The family was ordered to pay £67,000 in legal fees and damages by a High Court judge.
A spokeswoman for CGP said at the time: “Although litigation against other parties who became involved in defaming Mr Parsons is still ongoing, this judgment represents a very good outcome, and the court’s declaration of falsity is clear. CGP would like the outcome of this case to bring something positive to the local community by reducing this kind of behaviour.”
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