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Steve Coogan has insisted his film about the discovery of the remains of Richard III was 'the story I wanted to tell, and I am happy I did' after he lost a High Court defamation battle to a university academic. Coogan and two production companies have been ordered to pay 'substantial' damages to academic Richard Taylor after a court ruled he was defamed in his film, The Lost King. Mr Taylor, formerly deputy registrar of the University of Leicester, has successfully sued Coogan, who was a writer and producer of the 2022 film, and he is understood to have been awarded a six-figure sum. The film centres on the role of amateur historian Philipa Langley who led the search to find the Plantagenet king's skeleton. The lost remains of Richard III were found in a Leicester car park in 2012, more than 500 years after his death. However Mr Taylor claimed the film made him appear 'weasel-like' and 'misogynistic'. Ms Langley had said she had intended to appear as a witness for Coogan, but was unable to do so due to ill health, adding: 'It has been the most significant honour to have my story told by Pathe, Baby Cow and Steve Coogan.' And in a statement after the ruling, Coogan said: 'Further to Philippa's own statement, it is unfortunate that due to her ill health, we were unable to put evidence before the court so that the judge could independently come to a decision on the matter, which I would have preferred. 'Philippa Langley instigated the search for Richard III. Philippa Langley insisted on the dig in the northern area of the social services car park where the remains were found. Philippa Langley raised the majority of the money for his exhumation. 'If it wasn't for Philippa Langley, Richard III would still be lying under a car park in Leicester. It is her name that will be remembered in relation to the discovery of the lost king, long after Richard Taylor has faded into obscurity. 'As already stated, the only changes to the film will be a front card, which will follow the existing card, which says that this film is a true story, Philippa Langley's story. That is the story I wanted to tell, and I am happy I did.' Mr Taylor - now the chief operating officer at Loughborough University - had earlier said: 'Whilst it is clear to me that the defendants were misled as to the events of the discovery, they made a deliberate choice to accept those accounts, failing to speak or check basic facts. 'Our work is twisted into a false caricature of university elitism, ivory towers and self-interest.' Daniel Jennings, defamation partner at law firm, Shakespeare Martineau, who represented Mr Taylor, said: 'Individuals often feel unable to speak up against large corporations and well-known personalities, but this win demonstrates that there is recourse when wrongs have been committed. 'We live in an era of documentaries, podcasts and very public investigative journalism and there's a growing trend for film and television productions to be labelled as 'true accounts' to grab audience attention and generate media buzz around new releases. 'Mr Taylor's win should act as a real warning for anything looking to use those tactics. 'The law is very clear and there are defined routes to compensation for individuals who find themselves misrepresented.' The High Court heard how The Lost King is being told from the perspective of Ms Langley and that it opens by telling viewers that the film is telling 'her story'. In the film, Langley, who suffers from ME, becomes obsessed with Richard III after watching a Shakespeare play about him and then thinking the bones were buried in a local car park. Mr Taylor is portrayed as being initially sceptical but later turns up at the dig with a film crew, where he says the university is 'leading' the search. After the controversial king's remains are found, the film shows the university setting up a press conference which Langley is not invited to speak and posters declaring the university had found the bones. Mr Taylor's lawyers said the film 'misrepresented the facts concerning the search for and discovery of Richard III's remains to the media and the public'. They said this was done 'by deviously manipulating the public presentation of information about the find, so as unjustly to conceal Philippa Langley's true role, and to take credit that was rightfully hers, for himself and the University of Leicester'. The defendants denied the film portrayed such a 'saint and sinner' narrative, but judge ruled that the portrayal of Mr Taylor did have a defamatory meaning. His Honour Judge Lewis said: 'The character Mr Taylor was portrayed throughout the Film in a negative light. At no point was he shown in a way that could be described as positive, or even neutral. 'Whilst an individual scene may not in itself cross the threshold of seriousness, taken together the Film makes a powerful comment about the claimant and the way he conducted himself when undertaking a senior professional role for a university. 'The poor way in which he was depicted as behaving towards Ms Langley was contrary to common shared values of our society and would have been recognised as such by the hypothetical reasonable viewer.' However, he rejected Taylor's argument that the hypothetical reasonable viewer would have come away thinking he was misogynist or sexist. At the previous hearing in London, William Bennett KC, said the film showed him as a 'devious, weasel-like person' and a 'suited bean-counter', who was 'mocking' Richard III's disability. Mr Bennett said: 'It's a straightforward, plot-driven film where everything that is said and done matters.' Andrew Caldecott KC, representing Mr Coogan and the two companies, said the film states it was 'based on a true story', adding: 'It is not a literal portrayal of exact words... and would be understood as putting forward Ms Langley's perception.' He continued that while the film was 'clearly strongly critical' of Mr Taylor and the university for 'sidelining' Ms Langley during the discovery process, 'no reasonable viewer' would conclude that Mr Taylor's motive was 'sexism or misogynism'. While Judge Lewis ruled that aspects of Mr Taylor's portrayal could be defamatory, he said he did not think a viewer of the film 'would have come away from the film thinking that it was saying that the claimant was a misogynist or sexist'. He also said someone watching the film would not think Mr Taylor was 'equating Richard III's physical deformity with wickedness or moral failings' from the portrayal. A University of Leicester spokesperson said: 'The University pledged the first major payment for the excavation, and underwrote the dig, which included covering the cost of expert academics' time and the use of equipment, whereupon the City Council and others also joined in. 'Philippa Langley showed great tenacity and determination to also crowdsource funding from the Richard III Society to contribute to the fund required for the initial exploratory dig. The University paid for the majority of the excavation and the entirety of the post-excavation costs. The University has financial records to back this up. 'We appreciate that while The Lost King is based on real events, it is a work of fiction, and recollections will vary from various people of what happened during such an incredibly exciting moment in history. 'It is our view that the portrayal of the University of Leicester's role in the project is far removed from the accurate work that took place. 'We worked closely with Philippa Langley throughout the project, and she was not sidelined by the University. Indeed, she formed part of the team interview panel for every single press conference connected to the King. 'The suggested whereabouts of the King's remains was public knowledge prior to Philippa's intervention, however, we recognise she was the positive driving force behind the decision to dig for Richard III. 'The University made an offer to The Lost King production team, in good faith, to help it establish the correct factual basis of the project that discovered and identified Richard III. This offer was not taken up. 'We also understand that the film's production team took no steps to establish the factual basis with Richard Taylor, the University's then-Deputy Registrar, who helped oversee and coordinate the project. We understand the portrayal of Richard Taylor in the film does not in any way resemble the reality during this period, whilst an employee of the University of Leicester. Our records point to a colleague engaging constructively, collegiately, fairly and professionally throughout the project. 'Richard Taylor's last date of employment at the University was 15 September 2013, and any portrayal of his involvement after this point with the project's arrangements (for example the decisions regarding the re-interment) simply cannot be accurate.' Coogan is best known for creating the character Alan Partridge. He earned rave reviews for his portrayal of serial sex abuser Jimmy Savile in BBC series The Reckoning last year.
