Rights groups back Observer writer Carole Cadwalladr over court costs

Reporter’s legal team argues that excessive costs awarded to Brexit backer violates her right to journalistic freedom of expression and will take case to European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg

A coalition of organisations championing press freedom have rallied behind the award-winning Observer and Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr, stating they are “deeply disappointed” she has been refused permission to appeal against a ruling that ordered her to pay significant legal costs to the prominent Brexit backer Arron Banks.

The supreme court refused to let Cadwalladr contest a cost order six months ago making the journalist responsible for hundreds of thousands of pounds of Banks’s legal costs. The coalition, which includes Index on Censorship, the Guardian, the Observer and Reporters Without Borders UK among others, warns that the decision risks stifling public interest journalism in the UK.