Noel Clarke must pay at least £3 million of The Guardian publisher’s legal costs after pursuing a “far-fetched” and “false case” against the newspaper’s reporting of allegations of sexual misconduct, a High Court judge has ruled. At a High Court hearing on Tuesday, she said Mr Clarke must pay £3 million ahead of a detailed assessment into the total costs to be recovered, estimated to be above £6 million. He said about 40,000 documents had to be reviewed, including audio recordings and transcripts, and pointed to a number of “misconceived applications” Mr Clarke had made which “required much work from the defendant’s lawyers in response”. The barrister also said Mr Clarke had originally asked for damages of £10 million, which then increased to £40 million, then £70 million, as the case progressed. He also asked the court to hold payment of costs pending an appeal.