Arron Banks almost crushed me in court. Instead, my quest for the facts was vindicated | Carole Cadwalladr

The libel claim brought by the Brexit campaigner took its toll. But the judgment offered personal relief and hope for public interest journalism

Last week, after a nearly six-month wait, I learned that I'd won the libel claim brought against me by Arron Banks, the main funder of the Leave.EU campaign. It has been a long, brutal haul and the stress over the three years since it began has been extreme. I'm not so much relieved as completely numb.

I had been braced to lose and I knew exactly what would happen if I had. The headlines I would face, the accusation that I was - what my detractors have always claimed - a conspiracist", the social media shitstorm that would ensue. I had no doubt about how devastating it would be because every step of this litigation has felt as if it was aimed at trying to crush me. In large part, it's succeeded.

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