This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Ryanair has launched libel action against Channel 4's Dispatches and the publishers of the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror over allegations about the airline's attitude towards safety.

Earlier this week the airline said that it would take action against Channel 4 over a Dispatches documentary, Ryanair: Secrets from the Cockpit, and it later sacked a longstanding pilot who had appeared in the documentary.

On Friday, Ryanair said that it is to expand the libel action to include Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, and Mirror Group, publisher of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror and the People.

A request to Ryanair's PR agency Edelman to clarify exactly which title, or titles, are the target of legal proceedings was rejected.

"Ryanair does not comment on pending legal cases," said a spokeswoman.

Johnsons, the law firm representing Ryanair, published a statement on Friday confirming that defamation proceedings have been started at the high court in Dublin.

A writ of summons has also been issued in Northern Ireland against the Belfast Telegraph and "other litigation is pending", the law firm said.

"We have been instructed to vigorously prosecute these libel proceedings with a view to securing total vindication of Ryanair's industry-leading safety reputation, following the broadcast and publication of outrageous and totally unfounded allegations regarding my client's attitude toward safety," said Paul Tweed, senior partner at Johnsons.

"Ryanair is justifiably proud of its 29-year safety record, which has been fully endorsed by the Irish Aviation Authority and other European regulators, and which has been independently verified as being 'on a par with the safest airlines in Europe'."

On Friday, Ryanair dropped its action against the Belfast Telegraph after it published an online apology for an article headed "Are budget airlines like Ryanair putting passengers at risk?".

The Daily Mail and Daily Mirror had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

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