Qasim Akhtar, who portrayed Zeedan Nazir on the ITV soap Coronation Street across two periods from 2014 to 2018 and 2021 to 2023, has reached a settlement with News Group Newspapers following a libel claim filed earlier this year. The Manchester-born actor sued the publisher over a story that made several false claims, including that he had backed and partnered with an Islamic cleric, possessed associations with extremism and radicalisation, had relocated to Pakistan, and received firearms training.
News Group Newspapers has agreed to pay Akhtar substantial damages and cover his legal costs as part of the settlement. During the High Court proceedings, Daniel Taylor, the actor’s lawyer, presented an agreed statement in which the defendant acknowledged that publication of the article caused serious harm to Akhtar’s reputation and caused him significant distress. The statement also noted that the false claims resulted in reputational damage affecting his family life and business operations, which Akhtar was forced to suspend while the matter proceeded through the courts.
News Group Newspapers acknowledged that it failed to obtain Akhtar’s response to the serious allegations before publishing the article. Andrew Wheelhouse, representing the publisher, stated that the defendant recognises the article should never have been published and committed to never repeating the allegations. The Sun had previously issued an unreserved apology to Akhtar in May, accepting that all claims in the article were entirely false and confirming that Akhtar has never endorsed extremism, violence, or radicalisation, nor relocated to Pakistan for firearms training.
Akhtar, who has also appeared in television productions including Shameless and Waterloo Road, did not attend the court hearing. In a social media post in June, he described the preceding months as particularly difficult, noting that the allegations had deeply affected his reputation, family, safety, and peace of mind.
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