THE former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, is planning to appeal against the decision by a London jury to award him "zero" damages in his libel action against the Sunday Times. Mr Reynolds will be back in court today to fight having to pay all the costs of the trial, estimated to run to £1 million sterling.
When asked about his plans after the verdict yesterday, he said he would discuss them with his legal team, but added: "It's not over yet."
Sources within the Reynolds camp told The Irish Times last night that they would "certainly" be appealing the absence of a damages award on the grounds of Mr Justice French's summing up.
Counsel for Mr Reynolds will argue this morning at the Royal. Courts of Justice that he should not be liable for the costs. The jury had found that the Sunday Times had libelled him by saying be lied to the Dail.
After three days of deliberations the jury of six men and five women returned their majority verdict at 2.05 p.m. yesterday. In a packed and tense court, the foreman announced that, by a majority of 10 to one, they agreed that Mr Reynolds had been libelled.
Mr Reynolds then smiled and winked at the press box.
However, in answer to the remaining four questions they had been asked, the foreman stated that the Sunday Times journalists had not acted maliciously. When asked about the amount of damages, the foreman paused before stating loudly: "Zero costs."
The jury also found that the newspaper had correctly reported. Mr Dick Spring's reasons for ending the coalition.
Outside the court, Mr Reynolds said the verdict proved that he was not a liar, but that he was now seeking legal advice on whether he has grounds for appeal.
"I am not prepared to let these other aspects rest here . . . I will not be called a liar by somebody. They will have to prove it, and they have failed to prove it here," he told journalists.
The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, congratulated Mr Reynolds on "winning his libel case ... and on vindicating his good name and integrity".
Mr Fergus Finlay, an adviser to Mr Spring who went to London to give evidence for the Sunday Times but was not called, said the verdict was "a fair and balanced outcome." He said the decision meant an Irish person could expect a fair hearing in an English court.
Mr Reynolds had sued the Sunday Times over an article printed in its English, Scottish and Welsh editions only, on November 20th, 1994. It accused him of lying to his Cabinet colleagues and misleading the Dail over the extradition of the paedophile priest, Father Brendan Smyth.
Under the headline "Goodbye Gombeen Man," the article purported to explain "Why a Fib too far was fatal for Ireland's peace-maker and Mr Fix-it." The Sunday Times denied the libel, claiming justification and qualified privilege.
Before the case started six weeks ago, Mr Reynolds rejected a £5,005 sterling payment lodged with the court by the Sunday Times, which he described yesterday as an insult.
However, because the jury awarded him no damages, he is now liable for both sides' legal costs from the time the trial began. This is based on the principle that the case would not have been necessary if he had accepted the money paid into court.
But the Sunday Times will argue today that he should also pay the "substantial pre-trial costs" incurred by the paper in preparing its case.
The solicitor for the Sunday Times, Mr Martin Kramer, described the verdict as "a very good victory" and "a vindication of defending the case."
The journalist who had written the report, Alan Ruddock, welcomed the finding that he had not acted maliciously. He added that he felt sorry for Mr Reynolds.