Terre-Blanche threatens to sue Channel 4

EUGENE Terre-Blanche, leader of the AWB, a far-right South African party, said yesterday he intended to bring his own libel suit against Channel 4.

His threat came after the High Court decided last week that Channel 4 Television had not defamed Jani Allan, a South African journalist, in a documentary. Miss Allan claimed the film portrayed her as a 'lady of easy virtue' and suggested she had had an affair with Mr Terre-Blanche.

Mr Terre-Blanche said, after watching a screening of the documentary, The Leader, his Driver and the Driver's Wife, that he objected to a line that he had driven his car into a river while drunk. 'I have not studied the text, but you can be very, very sure that Channel 4 will be hearing from my lawyers in the morning.'

Miss Allan, who faces legal fees estimated at pounds 300,000, is featuring in advertisements in South Africa for a telephone service in which she discusses the case at 5 rand 95 cents (pounds 1.10) a minute.