AN internet "blogger" who accused a Parliamentary candidate of being a sex offender and a racist bigot has been ordered to pay '10,000 damages in a landmark ruling.

Tracy Williams, from Oldham, used an alias to make serious and false accusations in an internet chatroom and on her online diary - known as a web log, or blog. She made the comments in April 2004 about Michael Keith-Smith, 53, who fought the Portsmouth North seat last year for the UK Independence Party.

The former Conservative Party member, of Fareham, Hants, said Ms Williams had verbally attacked him in an internet chatroom after they disagreed in a group debate about the rights and wrongs of the Iraq war.

It is understood the politician won a court order to force internet company Yahoo to hand over details of Ms William's identity so he could sue her.

Judge Alistair MacDuff ordered Ms Williams to pay Mr Keith-Smith '10,000 damages and never again to repeat the "unfounded" defamatory remarks, which included accusing him of sexual harassment.

Mr Keith-Smith told London's High Court: "The published statements, upon which reliance is placed, are clearly seriously defamatory.

Abuse

'These statements have been made to a restricted audience and it is likely that few people have read these statements.

'But they were available to the whole world, or at least to the part of the world that has access to a computer and knows how to go on the internet.'

The judge said the abuse started after chartered surveyor Mr Keith-Smith signed up to the discussion site, which had 100 or so members, hosted by Yahoo, in 2003.

Describing a debate about the Iraq War as the 'flashpoint', Mr Keith-Smith had told the judge: 'The whole thing got out of hand when the Iraq war started.'

Awarding '10,000 damages to Mr Keith-Smith, who says he has spent more than '7,000 pursuing the case, Judge MacDuff added: 'It is right that, in making an award, the court should have regard to the feelings of the person that has been defamed.'

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