Jury to decide on Morrissey's racism libel claim

Pop star Morrissey today won the right to let a jury decide whether a magazine had portrayed him as "a racist and blatant hypocrite".

The former Smiths frontman is suing NME for libel over an interview first published four years ago.

Lawyers for NME claim the case should be struck out because the delay in bringing proceedings showed that Morrissey, 52, "was not really interested".

But today Mr Justice Tugendhat rejected the magazine's application as "a disproportionate sanction".

He added: "The imputation complained of in this action is a very serious one and the extent of publication was very wide.

"Mr Morrissey remains a prominent figure in the world of music and NME is a magazine which enjoys an important place in that world.

"These are unusual circumstances in which to ask a court to strike out a libel action and I decline to do so."

The trial, which is expected to be heard next summer, will be the first British libel case to come before a jury for more than two years.

Morrissey has claimed that the NME "deliberately twisted" his words in the interview to make him appear racist.

In the interview, which appeared under the headline "Morrissey big mouth strikes again", the singer is said to have criticised immigration, claiming that "the higher the influx (of non British people) into England the more British identity disappears. He was quoted as saying: "The gates of England are flooded. The country's been thrown away."