The former leader of Ukip in Rotherham has been ordered to pay £80,000 in damages to two local Labour MPs for falsely alleging that they knew about the city’s child sexual exploitation scandal but failed to act. In a statement, Healey and Barron said they were very pleased with the full vindication that the judgment gave them. Lawyers for Healey and Barron said they had not pursued the case for money – it was about establishing the truth. A ruling from the high court deemed Vines’s comments to have been defamatory and Mr Justice Warby awarded Barron and Healey £40,000 each in damages on Wednesday. Related: Police failure on Rotherham abuse was isolated, report findsThe judge also ruled that Vines should pay the MPs’ legal costs for the 18-month libel action, ordering him to pay £30,000 of this upfront within 28 days.

Source: The Guardian June 01, 2016 13:41 UTC