Alex Belfield: Stalker ex-BBC DJ agrees to pay Jeremy Vine damages

A former BBC radio presenter convicted of stalking Jeremy Vine has agreed to pay damages to the broadcaster.

This included the BBC Radio 2 presenter, who launched separate civil action over Belfield's "campaign of harassment", the High Court was told.

Vine's lawyer said Belfield made false allegations in nine YouTube videos and eight tweets, published in 2020.

Gervase de Wilde told Mrs Justice Steyn that Belfield - a former BBC Radio Leeds presenter - posted "entirely false" allegations between May and August of that year.

This included the false claim that Vine was "seriously and demonstrably dishonest", because he had "publicly and repeatedly lied" about his knowledge of the circumstances in which the BBC donated £1,000 towards a memorial fund for radio executive John Myers.

Mr Myers, who died in June 2019, was one of Vine's "closest friends", the court was told.

Mr de Wilde said Belfield also sought to obtain "private information concerning [Vine]", including the phone numbers of family and friends, "for the purposes of publishing and disclosing that information online".

The court heard Belfield also encouraged members of the public to contact Vine during his broadcasting work and during "his day-to-day life".

"[Vine] was also made deeply upset and anxious by the defendant's harassment of him, and he became concerned for the safety of his family," Mr de Wilde said.

Giving evidence during Belfield's separate criminal trial, Vine said "the saddest thing" was when one of Belfield's followers called him a "thieving toe-rag" under a Facebook tribute to his late father, who died with Parkinson's disease in 2018.

Vine described the harassment as "like an avalanche of hatred you get hit by", and "absolutely Olympic-level stalking, even for broadcasting".

Belfield was convicted of stalking BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernard Spedding, known as Bernie Keith, and videographer Ben Hewis.

In relation to Vine and theatre blogger Philip Dehany, Belfield was found guilty of two lesser offences of "simple" stalking, which does not require serious alarm or distress to be proved.

Belfield was found not guilty of stalking Rozina Breen, Liz Green, Helen Thomas and Stephanie Hirst.

Mr de Wilde said following Belfield's criminal conviction, Belfield accepted "the defamatory and seriously harmful allegations of dishonesty which he made against [Vine] are entirely false".

Belfield, he said, had "agreed to pay [Vine] substantial damages, as well as his legal costs, and to give undertakings subject to a penal notice in respect of future publications and conduct concerning [Vine]".

The exact amount has not been disclosed.

Alan Robertshaw, representing Belfield, originally from Mapperley in Nottingham, added: "He wishes to apologise unreservedly for the damage and distress caused to [Vine] and his reputation by his publications and express his profound and unreserved regret for all of the harm for which he is responsible."