A SELF proclaimed 'citizen journalist' who uses social media to try to expose supposed criminal behaviour has been told he faces a prison sentence after admitting he breached a legal order relating to a series of false claims against the Easdale brothers.

Paul Hendry from East Sussex has already been told he has to pay the McGill's Buses tycoons £400,000 in damages over false crime claims made on X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube.

The 59-year-old has been subject to an interdict to stop further publication of the claims and pledged that he would not mention the Inverclyde businessmen again.

But he has now accepted that he made further publications and Lord Braid at the Court of Session has told him that he now faces a potential jail sentence for contempt of court.

Hendry, who calls himself a 'citizen journalist' on his social media accounts, has previously been found to have used his platforms to falsely name and shame.

The development has come in the wake of action taken by Sandy Easdale, 55, and brother James, 52, who own Greenock-based McGill’s, said to be Scotland's largest independent bus company.

The pair moved up the 2023 UK Rich List with their fortune now put at £1.425bn; in The Sunday Times list, which revealed the 345 richest people in the UK, they are placed at 126.

The Easdales also own Blairs Windows, ARC Fleet Services, Clyde Metals and Inverclyde Taxis.

In May, they were awarded £200,000 each against Hendry who had been ordered to take down videos and posts that included disparaging allegations and warned not to repeat them.

Greenock Telegraph:

But the blogger, who used the pseudonym Art Hostage, has appeared before the Court of Session after false claims were repeated at the end of last year.

According to court documents, the Easdales have reported the matters to Police Scotland and Sussex Police.

They have told the court that Police Scotland will complete a 'police transfer' to Sussex Police which would allow them to investigate and take any action considered appropriate. The court has heard that Hendry did not believe he had broken the Scottish court order because he was publishing in England.

Hendry, who continues to post under the pseudonym on social media, said he hoped that he would get credit and a third reduction on any sentence for taking down posts and 'never speak about them again' and had stuck to that 'rigidly'.

He said: "All I can do is to concede there was a breach of the interdict. All I can do is bring this to speedy conclusion without using any more of the court's valuable time.

"I genuinely didn't believe I was breaching the interdict.

"I will never mention the Easdales again."

Lord Braid said that having conceded he made the posts he would have to consider whether that amounts to a punishment of a custodial sentence.

A decision on further action is due to be made next week.