US billionaire Robert Mercer to sue Channel 4 over portrayal in Benedict Cumberbatch Brexit drama Mr Mercer is set to launch legal action against Channel 4, after he was a character in TV drama Brexit: The Uncivil War

Influential Donald Trump donor Robert Mercer is set to sue Channel 4 over his portrayal in the Benedict Cumberbatch TV drama Brexit: The Uncivil War.

Channel 4 aired the semi-fictionalised drama from playwright James Graham, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch as Vote Leave founder Dominic Cummings, in January.

The 90-minute film included a brief scene that featured a meeting between UKIP’s Nigel Farage, Arron Banks of Leave.EU and Robert Mercer, who is a billionaire backer of right-wing political causes in the US.

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‘Data is power’

In the scene the character of Mr Mercer, played by Aden Gillett, described Brexit as a “key front in our cultural war against the political class” and speaks to Mr Banks about “one of my other little projects,” the data firm Cambridge Analytica.

The character adds: “Money is one thing, Mr Banks, but data is power. You see, this is all just beginning.”

According to The Sunday Times, Mr Mercer denies ever meeting Mr Banks, and alleges that the drama incorrectly portrayed him as being complicit in criminal wrongdoing.

The businessman, who was a major supporter of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and previously co-owned Breitbart News, says he was not consulted prior to broadcast.

The newspaper reports that Mr Mercer is set to pursue defamation action against Channel 4 over the drama.

Brexit controversy

In 2017, former Leave.EU communications director Andy Wigmore alleged that Mr Mercer “introduced” Leave.EU figures to data firm Cambridge Analytica, though the company stated only initial meetings took place, and denied any formal relationship with the campaign.

A report from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office in November found there was “no evidence that [Cambridge Analytica] were involved in any data analytics work with the EU Referendum campaigns.”

Cambridge Analytica, which was co-founded by Mr Mercer, shut down in May 2018 after it was accused of harvesting Facebook data without permission to create personalised adverts in an effort to sway elections.

The Channel 4 drama is still available to watch online.

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said the company does not comment on ongoing legal matters.