UK broadcaster Michael Parkinson accepts libel damages

LONDON (Reuters) - British talk show host Michael Parkinson accepted libel damages on Wednesday over a Daily Mail article published in May last year that suggested he had lied about his family background.

Parkinson, who was at the High Court in London for the settlement of his action against Associated Newspapers, said he would donate the 25,000 pounds ($38,000) in damages to charity, the Press Association reported.

The article, "Who's Telling Parkies," suggested Parkinson behaved insensitively toward his elderly uncle and alleged he lied by painting a false picture of a harmonious and close-knit family and by presenting his father as honest and popular.

The newspaper has accepted the allegations were "entirely false" and agreed to pay damages and Parkinson's legal costs.

Parkinson, 74, said in a statement that as a journalist he had been reluctant to take legal action against a newspaper.

"Where defamatory allegations have been published about me, I have always until now turned a blind eye," said the popular TV chat show host.

"However, I decided that the Daily Mail had crossed a line by a long way, especially as they knew my views on my father and my family."

Parkinson said the Daily Mail should not have taken nine months to apologize and that the newspaper's "delaying tactics" were "unattractive and unworthy of a national newspaper.

"At a time when the media is seeking greater freedom, I think it is counterproductive for a newspaper to behave in this way," he added.

(Writing by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)