COMEDIAN Frankie Boyle has been awarded more than £54,000 in damages from a tabloid newspaper which branded him a racist.

The Glasgow comic said he was very happy after a High Court jury in his libel fight with the Daily Mirror concluded he had been defamed by the publication.

Boyle, 40, said he had sued because he had always "made a point" of being "anti-racist".

He had claimed a Daily Mirror article published on July 19 last year defamed him by describing him as "Racist comedian Frankie Boyle" and saying he had been "forced to quit" BBC panel show Mock The Week.

Daily Mirror publisher Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) defended the article. MGN said the "racist" description was either true or "honest comment on a matter of public interest". And the publisher said the words "forced to quit" did not mean Mr Boyle had been sacked and were not defamatory.

Jurors ruled in Boyle's favour after a week-long trial in London.

Boyle, who said he would give the damages to charity, gave a V-for-victory sign as he left court and later tweeted his reaction.

"I'm very happy with the jury's decision and their unanimous rejection of the Mirror's allegation that I am a racist," he said on Twitter. "Racism is still a very serious problem in society which is why I've made a point of always being anti-racist in my life and work and that's why I brought this action.

"I am giving my damages to charity."

MGN lawyers had told jurors Boyle was a "racist comedian" who gratuitously exploited negative stereotypes of black people for "cheap laughs".

A barrister representing MGN said Boyle was "callous" and "insensitive". Ronald Thwaites, QC, said jurors should not find in the comedian's favour, and he said if jurors thought Mr Boyle had been libelled they should show their "contempt" by awarding damages of 45p – the price of a copy of the Daily Mirror.

The jury was shown footage from the BBC satirical show Mock The Week in which Boyle and other comedians discussed the topic of immigration. Boyle said he was pretending to be someone with racist views during the episode.

However, he denied punctuating material with racist references or making gratuitous use of black people. He told jurors that characters he played might express racist views, but he did not.

Boyle said he actively campaigned against racism and parodied racists – and claimed the Daily Mirror had misunderstood the context of his use of language in jokes.

Barrister David Sherborne, acting for Boyle, said his client's humour was deliberately challenging. He told the jury: "Saying 'vile' or 'offensive', or his material is vile or offensive, is one thing.

"He realises that goes with the territory, so to speak. But accusing him of being a racist is an entirely different matter."

Mr Sherborne added: "You can call him offensive, you can call him tasteless. That's fine. But he is not racist."