Alex Belfield: Stalker ex-BBC DJ in libel payout to detective

A former BBC radio presenter convicted of stalking Jeremy Vine is to pay compensation to a police officer who launched a libel case against him.

Alex Belfield was jailed for five and a half years in 2022 for harassing four people online.

While being investigated, he made a string of claims against Nottinghamshire Police detective Janet Percival on his YouTube channel.

Her lawyer says an agreement has now been reached by both parties.

The payout amount has not been disclosed, but her legal team described it as "substantial".

Belfield, who lived in Nottingham and had hundreds of thousands of YouTube subscribers, was convicted in August 2022 of stalking BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernard Spedding, known as Bernie Keith, and videographer Ben Hewis.

In relation to Vine and theatre blogger Philip Dehany, Belfield was found guilty of two lesser offences of "simple" stalking, which does not require serious alarm or distress to be proved.

Vine described the harassment as "like an avalanche of hatred you get hit by", and "absolutely Olympic-level stalking, even for broadcasting".

Ms Percival took legal action over multiple claims made by Belfield on his channel as she led the investigation against him between March 2021 and May 2022.

Her solicitor Jeremy Clarke-Williams said this included claiming she was corrupt and had acted unlawfully in conducting raids at his property as well as harassing him, lying to a magistrate and "colluding with the BBC in a witchhunt against Belfield".

On Thursday, Mr Clarke-Williams said Belfield had accepted his liability and agreed to publicly retract the false allegations, in addition to paying Ms Percival "a substantial sum in respect of compensation and legal costs".

Following the settlement, Ms Percival said: "I am very pleased that through taking this action I have been able to vindicate my reputation, which is very precious to me.

"I take pride in always conducting myself professionally and honestly as a police officer, and the baseless and false allegations which Mr Belfield broadcast about me were extremely upsetting.

"It is a huge relief that I can now get on with my police career without this cloud hanging over me."

The settlement comes after Belfield agreed to pay damages to Vine in July 2023 over false allegations made on his channel.

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