Stormont’s health department is facing a £300k legal bill over an article about Van Morrison written by former minister Robin Swann.
The details were revealed on Friday following a Freedom of Information request made by The Irish News.
The department confirmed that the legal costs for its defence of legal proceedings against Sir Van “stands at £303,569.54″.
Both Sir Van and Mr Swann had issued competing lawsuits over the handling of coronavirus restrictions in Northern Ireland.
The cases were settled in September.
Mr Swann had sued the singer for slander after he had declared the former health minister was “very dangerous” in front of an audience at a Belfast hotel in June 2021.
Sir Van also issued legal proceedings against the department and Mr Swann about an article penned by the UUP politician in the leading rock magazine, Rolling Stone.
The article had claimed that some of the musician’s criticism of lockdown rules had been “actually dangerous”.
The costs incurred by the department for defending Sir Van’s lawsuit have now been made public following an FoI request.
In a statement to The Irish News, the department of health firstly said it had “no involvement in the case taken against Sir Van Morrison by former minister Robin Swann” adding that “no departmental expenditure was incurred in this case”.
But it added: “The separate case taken against the department by Sir Van Morrison necessarily involved legal costs being incurred by the department in its defence of these legal proceedings.
“The total for these costs stands at £303,569.54.
“This comprises the department’s own barrister and solicitor costs and the department’s payment of its share of legal costs to which Sir Van Morrison was entitled following a Court of Appeal decision in the case.
“Specifically, the legal costs paid to Sir Van Morrison followed his successful appeal of a decision of the Northern Ireland High Court to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal regarding the mode of trial for his action against the department and were paid in furtherance to an Order of the Court of Appeal dated 28 March 2023 which directed payment of such costs.
“The case between the department and Sir Van Morrison was settled following a mediation process and did not proceed to trial.
“No damages were paid.”
