Chris Packham the famous wildlife presenter fears ‘extreme violence’, and has previously been the victim of arson, as well as having dead crows left outside his home.
“I sometimes leave or return to my home wondering if someone will be there waiting – someone who is so excited by these accusations that they feel motivated to extreme violence,” said Packham in an online video to launch the crowdfunding site.
“It’s not something most people can afford or stomach. I’m two years into cases which have cost thousands of pounds and many sleepless nights,” said the presenter. “People should simply not be able to get away with hate terrorism and they must be held to account if there is any hope that we might live in a respectful, decent society.”
Background
This is the background to the crowdfunder now £99,177.
Who am I?
I’m Dr Ruth Tingay, a long-time friend and work colleague of wildlife broadcaster Chris Packham CBE. I have set up this crowd funder on his behalf because I know Chris will be reluctant to take this step himself and I think he deserves our help and support.
Summary of the case
In June 2022, Fieldsports Channel Ltd published an article written by one of its journalists, Ben O’Rourke, and an accompanying video, accusing Chris of dishonest and unethical behaviour. They claimed that Chris wrote a fake death letter to himself and that he dishonestly claimed that it was sent to his home by an anonymous member of the shooting and farming community.
These publications also gave a misleading account of a related defamation claim Chris is pursuing against the editor and authors of articles published by Country Squire Magazine (CSM). Those articles claim that Chris fraudulently raised funds from the public in 2018 to rescue five tigers from ex-circus life in Spain. They also claim that Chris misled the public in claiming that muirburn taking place on two grouse-shooting estates in the Cairngorms National Park during the Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in October 2021 would have burnt peat. The CSM Defendants have also made the allegation that Chris has forged a death threat letter to himself. Chris’s defamation action against them will be heard in the High Court in May 2023.
What are the implications of the allegation made by Fieldsports Channel Ltd?
The implications of the absurd handwriting allegation are that Chris lied to his family about the source of the death threat letter and wasted the police’s time in investigating the letter. The CSM Defendants have steadfastly persisted in this allegation even after Chris notified them that their expert had analysed his former accountant’s handwriting, not his. These allegations go to the heart of Chris’ integrity and therefore his reputation. Fieldsports Channel Ltd purports to have an enormous readership, over which it claims to exert significant influence.
Fieldsports Channel presenter
Commenting on Packham’s legal case, Fieldsports Channel presenter Charlie Jacoby said: “We don’t understand why Chris didn’t settle this with a phone call. It’s as if he and his solicitor Leigh Day are only interested in using the courts to extract cash – in this case from a small media company that can’t afford legal help. And now Leigh Day is making even more money from Chris’s supporters. When a wealthy BBC TV presenter wants to try to take you down, there’s not much you can do except watch.”
Related: Chris Packham’s comment about Shell’s ‘outrageous’ profits goes viral
