Hunger Striker Settles UK Libel Suit Over False Burger Report
A hunger striker outside Britain’s parliament has settled a libel suit against two newspapers that claimed he had secretly eaten McDonald’s hamburgers.
Parameswaran Subramanyam was trying to call attention to Tamils in Sri Lanka’s civil war, and had to be hospitalized after his 23-day protest, Reuters reports. He will receive 77,500 pounds in damages, according to BBC News and the Guardian, an amount that converts to more than $120,000.
The newspapers, the Daily Mail and the Sun, have apologized for stories that had claimed police monitoring equipment caught Subramanyam secretly eating burgers. The Sun’s article was headlined, “Hunger Striker Was Lovin’ It.”
Police have since confirmed that there was no special surveillance team and no secret taping, according to the lawyer representing Subramanyam, Magnus Boyd.
