A statement from former health secretary Matt Hancock in a Mail on Sunday article about cholesterol-lowering medications was used in a “seriously misleading” way, the High Court has ruled.

Dr Malcolm Kendrick and Zoe Harcombe are suing The Mail on Sunday’s publisher – Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) – and its health editor Barney Calman, for libel, over articles in 2019 which they claim described them as “statin deniers” who had caused “grave harm”.

Statins are a type of medication prescribed for high cholesterol, with the aim of reducing the likelihood of conditions such as heart attack and stroke.