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Bare-Faced Messiah: Review by Ben Hooberman (743 words) |
 | Geoffrey Johnson Smith was immediately sued for damages for libel by the cult. |
| A succession of unhappy witnesses told the court of the alienation of their children by the cult, of the impoverishment and punishment of the students at Saint Hill Manor and of the kidnapping of at least one sick student. |
| Mr Johnson Smith succeeded in his defence to the action and the cult had to pay a substantial sum for his costs. |
| C.H. Rolph 'Believe What You Like' - Chapter 7 (4083 words) |
| Mr Johnson Smith, formerly a member of the BBC's Current Affairs Unit and a television interviewer and reporter, became a vice-chairman of the Conservative Party and (from 1960 to 1963) was PPS to the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Pensions. |
| Then Mr Johnson Smith told the Court that, although the scientology organisation 'had a reputation for slapping writs on people who wrote or said anything they thought critical', he thought it would be cowardly to refuse to be interviewed on television about it, though he had felt hesitant and somewhat nervous. |
| Mr Johnson Smith was aware, he said, that in the TV interview he was running the risk of a libel action. |
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