By IANS,
London : Salman Rushdie will be at the High Court later Tuesday for the settlement of a libel action he brought over allegations in a book written by a former policeman.
Ron Evans, a former Special Branch driver, made a number of allegations in the book, “On Her Majesty’s Service”. It was to have been published at the beginning of August, but was delayed after being serialised in The Mail on Sunday when Rushdie first became aware of its contents.
John Blake Publishing Ltd pulped the 4,000 copies that were printed but never published after discovering that substantial parts of two chapters were untrue. Parts of the book have now been rewritten.
It is understood that the settlement of Rushdie’s libel action will include an admission by the publisher that some allegations in the first version of the book were untrue, although the celebrity author is not claiming any damages, according to The Times.
The original book included claims, now proven to be false, that the security officers who guarded Rushdie after a fatwa was declared against him once locked him in a cupboard and went for a drink, and that his third wife, Elizabeth West, married him for his money.