The rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding have agreed to drop their legal case against the BBC over the broadcaster’s coverage of their arrest, and pay £20,000 in legal costs.
In March the players were found not guilty of raping a woman at Jackson’s home after a high-profile trial in Belfast.
Jackson and Olding, who both played for the Ireland and Ulster rugby union teams, had been suing BBC Northern Ireland, arguing the decision to report their arrests in November 2016 – before any charges had been brought – infringed their right to privacy.
They also claimed that the broadcaster had not given them long enough to respond to a request for comment before publishing the story and raised concerns about how the information had been obtained.
The BBC insisted its coverage was justified owing to the players’ high public profiles and said it had acted responsibly in handling the story.
The proceedings against the BBC were initially launched in 2016 but had been put on hold pending the outcome of the criminal trial.
After Jackson and Olding were unanimously cleared of all charges the rugby players initially indicated their intention to push ahead with the civil privacy case but instead decided to settle it at the high court in Belfast.
Kathleen Carragher, the head of BBC News Northern Ireland, said she was pleased with the decision: “We argued throughout this case that our reporting was responsible, accurate, in the public interest and observed the BBC guidelines.
“We are pleased that the players have accepted this outcome and have also agreed a contribution to our legal costs.”
Jackson also accepted that judgment should be entered against him in a connected case involving the journalist Orla Bannon. She said her “journalism and integrity have been vindicated” by the rugby player’s decision.
There were substantial protests against the players’ acquittal after the conclusion of the nine-week criminal trial, while supporters of the pair paid to take out a full-page advert in the Belfast Telegraph, calling for their playing suspensions to be lifted.
Amid growing concern from corporate sponsors about reputational damage the pair were sacked by their club side Ulster Rugby and told they would not play for the Irish national side in future. On Wednesday the English club Sale Sharks issued a statement denying speculation that they were interested in signing them.
