German Greens say plagiarism claims are ‘character assassination’

Party hires prominent libel lawyer to defend its lead candidate, Annalena Baerbock, against allegations

Germany's Greens have accused their opponents of dirty campaigning and hired a prominent libel lawyer to defend their lead candidate against plagiarism accusations, as the ecological party seeks to get its challenge for the chancellory back on track three months before the national elections.

The Green party on Tuesday dismissed claims that its co-leader Annalena Baerbock had lifted five passages in her recently published book from news articles and Wikipedia entries without crediting them.