Crispin Odey drops £79m libel claim against FT over sexual misconduct allegations

Ex-hedge fund manager ‘forced to accept’ newspaper likely to succeed in its public interest defence, say his lawyers Crispin Odey, the former hedge fund manager, has dropped his £79m libel claim against the Financial Times over its reporting of sexual misconduct allegations against him, his lawyers have said. In 2023, the FT published several articles from 20 women alleging sexual assault and harassment against Odey, covering a period of five decades. He has previously denied the allegations against him. On Friday, lawyers for the former hedge fund tycoon, 67, said he had been “forced to accept” that the newspaper was “likely to succeed in establishing” its public interest defence. A letter said: “Having just endured the stress and strain of a three-week trial in the Upper Tribunal, he does not wish to pursue another lengthy trial at considerable cost, only to fail on the issue of public interest, even if he was successful, as he believes he would be, in demonstrating that he is not the violent predator he was presented as being in the articles.” Odey’s decision to drop his claim follows a three-week hearing in which he challenged a decision by the Financial Cond