Hartwell plc has issued libel proceedings against the Sunday Times over a story which it says unjustifiably links the business to the funding of Al Qaeda's terrorism activities.

On 8 June, the ST reported that Hartwell's former owner Jousef Jameel was one of 225 wealthy Saudis being sued for $1trillion in damages by families of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist atrocities.

Hartwell feels that the story, which included a picture of a Hartwell dealership and contained details of the car retail operation, unjustifiably links their business to the investigation. Edward McCabe, Hartwell chairman says: "There is no legitimate basis for linking Hartwell to the atrocities of 11 September 2001. The Sunday Times was told that if they ran an article which did so we would take action. I am shocked that the Sunday Times chose to ignore this warning and publish an article making such a serious allegation for which there is no justification at all."