Former Coronation Street actor Qasim Akhtar will receive “substantial” damages from The Sun’s publisher after the soap star sued for defamation.
Akhtar, 35, is best known for playing Zeedan Nazir on the ITV soap from 2014 until 2018. He later reprised the role for a three year stint in 2021.
The actor sued News Group Newspapers (NGN) earlier this year after The Sun, one of its publications, falsely alleged that Akhtar had “teamed up with” and “backed” Islamic cleric Uthman ibn Farooq – who was banned from entering the UK last year over his views. In the article, published both online and in print in November, it was wrongly claimed that Akhtar had become associated with extremism, radicalisation and violence, had “moved to Pakistan” and had undertaken gun training.
On Thursday (23 July), Akhtar’s lawyer, Daniel Taylor, confirmed in a statement that NGN had agreed to pay “substantial damages” and the actor’s legal costs.
“The defendant has accepted that the publication of the article caused serious harm to Mr Akhtar’s reputation and also caused him great distress,” he said, according to BBC News.
“This included reputational harm to his family life and business, which he was forced to put on hold pending the matter being resolved.”
Taylor continued: “The libel was compounded by the fact that the defendant has acknowledged that it failed to obtain Mr Akhtar’s response to these very serious allegations prior to publication.”
Andrew Wheelhouse, who represented NGN, said: “The defendant acknowledges that the article should never have been published and has undertaken never to repeat the allegations.”
The Independent has contacted both Akhtar and News UK for comment.
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The Sun published an apology for Akhtar in May, stating that it now accepts that “these allegations were entirely false and should never have been published”.
“Mr Akhtar has never endorsed or supported any such views and strongly condemns all forms of extremism and violence,” it continued. “He has never been involved in or associated with radicalisation nor has he, as further falsely claimed, moved to Pakistan and undertaken firearms training.
“We have agreed to pay Mr Akhtar a sum in damages and apologise unreservedly for the serious harm and distress caused to him by the publication of these false allegations.”
Manchester-born Akhtar, who has not taken on acting work since his Coronation Street exit in 2023, wrote on Instagram last month that the last six months had been “very tough”, adding: “Upon returning from performing my Umrah (pilgrimage), an article was published about me with false allegations that deeply affected me, my reputation, my family, my safety and my peace of mind.”
He added that he feels “no malice” towards those involved in publishing the article, writing: “Forgiveness is a staple in my religion.
“On that basis, I forgive you and I thank you for being complicit, admitting your faults and dealing with this in a moral and ethical manner.”
Akhtar appeared in Shameless, Waterloo Road and Doctors before taking on the role of Zeedan in Coronation Street.