07 June 2023 , 20:26
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Chris Packham said it is his “job” to take on bullies after he won a court battle.
A judge ruled the Springwatch presenter had been subjected to an online smear campaign.
The 62-year-old was awarded £90,000 in libel damages after articles on the Country Squire Magazine website accused him of lying to raise funds for a charity.
Asked if had any regrets about “taking on the bullies”, he said: “No, no, that’s my job. There are a lot of people who don’t have the capacity to take on people who are doing them enormous harm with online abuse and I am very fortunate to have that capacity.
“It’s an ill in contemporary society that does enormous harm to a lot of people and it’s something we have to address. We can’t have people being abused, particularly young people at a sensitive time of their lives.”
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Chris outside court during the case (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)Chris, from Southampton, said his new role as president of the RSPCA would have delighted his late mum.
He added: “When I was I was a kid, we used to go to a newsagents called Eliot’s and there was an RSPCA collection box... every time, I would ask my mum if I could have a penny to put in it. It was a thing we always did. It was a ritual.”
Chris now has his own collection box in his front room.
The current series of Springwatch is situated at the Arne Nature Reserve in Dorset. Chris said: “I’ve been going there since I was a child. It gives us a chance to feature some new species.”
* Springwatch is on BBC2 until June 15.