Councillor's libel bill

David Bookbinder, a former Labour leader of Derbyshire County Council, faces a bill of pounds 200,000 after the High Court decided a seven-year libel case against Phillip Oppenheim, Tory MP for Amber Valley, should not go for trial. Mr Bookbinder alleged that a pamphlet published in June 1987 suggested he had personally selected books for use in schools dealing with homosexuality, violence and nuclear war.