The North's First Minister Mr David Trimble today won a second public apology and libel damages over a book which accused him of complicity in a secret loyalist committee murdering Catholics.
The High Court in London heard that Mr Trimble initially sued Amazon.co.ukin 1999 following sales to UK customers of a book published in America entitled The Committee - Political Assassination in Northern Ireland, by investigative TV journalist Sean McPhilemy.
The book contained "grave libels" accusing Mr Trimble of being part of a secret loyalist organisation which plotted to murder republicans and Catholics, his solicitor, Mr Paul Fox, told Mr Justice Eady.
Amazon's website included reviews of the book by UK customers, some of whom repeated the libellous suggestion that Mr Trimble was a party to a vast conspiracy between prominent loyalists and members of the RUC which was responsible for the cold-blooded murder of innocent Catholics.
The book was withdrawn from sale and Mr McPhilemy publicly withdrew his allegations against Mr Trimble. In November 2000 Mr Trimble's first libel action was settled on payment of undisclosed damages.
Mr Trimble discovered in January last year, before the settlement could be announced in court, that Amazon was again selling the book on its website and publishing customer reviews which again alleged that he was party to a murder conspiracy.
Amazon has now undertaken not to sell the book again and to pay a further damages sum.
Amazon said it had not been aware of the contents of the book or the defamatory nature of the customer comments prior to Mr Trimble's first complaint.
It was impossible for Amazon to be aware of the content of each of the 1.5 million titles it distributed.
Amazon regretted selling the book again and "assures Mr Trimble that this was not deliberate and was the result of an administrative error".
PA