Smith wins damages over Hitler claim

Will Smith has won undisclosed damages from a newspaper that claimed he had described Adolf Hitler as a "good person".

The High Court heard that the Hollywood star was left "deeply distressed and acutely embarrassed" over the story which was published by newswire service World Entertainment News Network (WENN).

Smith's comments, originally published in the Scottish Daily Record newspaper, were then "wholly misrepresented" by the agency, Judge David Eady was told.

It picked up the interview and then wrongly published worldwide a story headlined "Smith: Hitler was a good person".

"Smith's lawyer Rachel Atkins told the court: The article alleged (Smith) had declared in an interview that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was a good person. It wholly misrepresents (his) actual words."

She said Smith, who was not in court, actually thought Hitler was "vile and heinous".

Atkins said the libel was left "at large" when the correction and apology WENN had issued was not published by other media outlets, despite retracting the story.

She said the undisclosed compensation would be donated to an unnamed charity. It will also meet Smith's legal costs.

John Melville Smith, defending WENN, said his client apologised for the story, which they now admitted was wrong.

"(WENN) offers its apologies to (Smith) for any distress and embarrassment caused by this article," he told the court. "(It) accepts that the allegations concerning (him) were misleading and published in error."

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