MP Richard Burgon in court for Sun 'Nazi images' libel case

The shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, has appeared in court at the start of his libel trial against the Sun over claims he recorded a track with a heavy metal band which adopted Nazi imagery.

The Labour MP, who would become lord chancellor and be placed in charge of the legal system if the party came to power, launched the libel action against the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper and its political editor, Tom Newton Dunn, after it reported on his guest appearance with the Leeds band Dream Troll.

The article, entitled: “Reich and Roll: Labour’s justice boss ridiculed after he joins a heavy metal band that delights in Nazi symbols”, was published in April 2017. It claimed the typeface used for the letter “S” in a Dream Troll social media post entitled “We Sold Our Soul For Rock N Troll” paid homage to the logo of Adolf Hitler’s SS paramilitary organisation, which played a key role in the Nazi Holocaust.

The Sun’s legal team said the story highlighting Burgon’s alleged association with Nazi iconography was justified, in part, because of the claims of antisemitism within the Labour party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

Burgon’s legal team said the artwork was in reality paying tribute to a classic heavy metal album cover by Black Sabbath and the gothic font was commonly used in horror films and in publications such as the Daily Telegraph. The Labour MP for Leeds East is a longstanding heavy metal fan and grew up with members of Dream Troll.

The Sun’s story was based on spoof artwork posted on Dream Troll’s Twitter account, alongside messages commenting on the actor Chuck Norris. The band also tweeted mock-ups of other heavy metal albums featuring the word Troll such as “God Gave Rock N Troll To You” and “For Whom The Bell Trolls”.

Burgon’s lawyer said the Sun had deliberately exaggerated the story to create a political controversy: “The intention behind any work of art is crucial to the understanding of it … The defendants accept that Mr Burgon is not a Nazi and there have never been any grounds to believe that he is, that Mr Burgon is not an antisemite, that Dream Troll are not Nazis, that they are not Nazi sympathisers, and crucially they do not delight in using Nazi symbols or iconography.”

Burgon, who employed the services of libel lawyers Carter-Ruck for the case, did not know about the artwork until he was approached by the newspaper and has known the members of the band since they were teenagers.

The court heard that Newton Dunn was first alerted to Burgon’s connection with the band by an email tip from a Labour councillor. The story was allegedly pulled forward because the Sun’s politics team had a thin newslist for the Good Friday edition of the paper and it was originally listed internally with the headline: “What a Nazi Justice Secretary.”

The journalist then called the Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke to provide “some political comment” on the story, and the Dover MP provided criticism of Burgon without having seen the Black Sabbath album cover.

Burgon’s team insisted that the Sun took the social media post out of context and knowingly misrepresented it. They are seeking damages.

The Sun’s legal team insisted that the story highlighted was justified, in part, because of alleged antisemitic incidents within the Labour in recent years. It said different standards applied to Black Sabbath and the shadow justice secretary, due to his involvement with Labour party and potential role in a future government.

The newspaper also said the online article received only 7,000 views on its website in the six months that it was available online before being taken down during legal proceedings.

Its lawyers initially said the story was “innocuous and light-hearted” and also said the headline claim that the band “delighted” in Nazi imagery is a legitimate “tabloid tweak” to encourage a mass audience to take an interest in news stories.

The newspaper’s lawyer said the story was in the public interest: “We say that Mr Burgon showed terrible misjudgment and exposed himself to ridicule” by associating himself with the band’s imagery.

The trial continues.