Noel Clarke left women he thought spoke to Guardian ‘fearful and in tears’

Court hears from publisher’s head of investigations about actor’s libel claim over sexual misconduct allegations

The actor Noel Clarke made calls to some of the women he thought were cooperating with the Guardian prior to the publication of its investigation into his behaviour, leaving them “shaken, fearful and in tears”, the high court in London has heard.

The Guardian’s head of investigations, Paul Lewis, was giving evidence in defence of Clarke’s libel claim against the news publisher over allegations of sexual misconduct.