Noel Clarke arrested during five-hour police raid days after losses in libel case

Noel Clarke, the actor known for Doctor Who, was arrested this morning during a five-hour police raid at his home in Kensington, West London. Officers moved in just before 9 a.m., with a specialist dog unit deployed as they searched the property. Clarke remained in custody for questioning, according to people familiar with the operation.

The arrest comes days after Clarke’s defeat in a libel case against The Guardian and Guardian News & Media. The civil trial, which spanned six weeks, involved testimony from more than a dozen women who alleged sexual abuse or harassment by the actor. In a High Court ruling issued earlier this week, Mrs Justice Steyn ordered Clarke to pay at least £3 million of GNMs costs, with the total bill expected to exceed £6 million after a detailed assessment. The judge said the amount was appropriate and allowed for a wide margin of error, while noting the claimant’s case had been pursued despite substantial evidence supporting the newspaper’s reporting.

"It seems to me that the sum of £3million sought by the defendant is appropriate and no more than what ought to be reasonably ordered in this case," the judge said. "It is substantially lower than the defendant's likely level of recovery on detailed assessment and so in my judgment, it does allow for a suitably wide margin of error."

The Guardian News & Media had defended its reporting as true and in the public interest, a position Mrs Justice Steyn endorsed in her ruling. The judge’s decision framed the civil allegations as a central element of the broader dispute over the newspaper’s coverage and materials relating to the case. Clarke’s legal team had argued the Guardian acted as the "judge, jury and executioner" of his career, a characterization the publisher rejected as a misreading of the reporting.

The Daily Mail reported that it had contacted the Metropolitan Police for more information about the arrest, but officials had not provided additional details. Police did not immediately release public comments about the reasons for the arrest, and there has been no confirmation of charges at this time. The case remains under police observation as investigations continue and no formal charges have been disclosed publicly at this stage.