December 24, 2012 (London, UK) – A weekly newspaper owned by British media magnate Rupert Murdoch has launched a lawsuit against American former pro cyclist Lance Armstrong. The Sunday Times announced in an article published December 23 that it is seeking to recoup some £300,000 that it paid out to Armstrong in 2006 to settle a libel suit with Armstrong. Interest costs and other items have now increased the total. The paper, owned by Murdoch’s News Corp., said its total claim against Armstrong will ‘likely to exceed’ £1 million pounds ($1.6 million CDN).

In 2006, The Times reprinted sections of L.A. Confidentiel, a book which claims Armstrong took performance-enhancing drugs. That book was co-written by Sunday Times chief sports writer David Walsh, probably the most prominent journalist among those accusing Armstrong of doping. Armstrong objected to these passages and sued The Sunday Times for libel which ultimately ended with the daily paying £300,000.

The UCI in October decided to revoke Armstrong’s seven TdF titles (1999–2005) based on evidence of doping by the cyclist as presented in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) “reasoned decision.” The Times lawyers have now written to Armstrong’s lawyers, claiming that, ‘It is clear that the proceedings were baseless and fraudulent. Your representations that you had never taken performance enhancing drugs were deliberately false.”

Pedal reported previously on the possibility of this British lawsuit, and of another lawsuit by SCA Promotions in the U.S.A (now evaluated at $12 million) and that the UCI is asking Armstrong to reimburse $3.8 million CDN in prize winnings from his seven TdF victories. There might possibly be a separate filing in Australia against Armstrong. However, given Armstrong’s estimated net worth of $125 million; he is likely to still retain a considerable fortune after these lawsuits and settlements have been dealt with.

But Armstrong may end up in jail for fraud and perjury; while under oath, he has repeatedly denied doping. It is also unclear if U.S. Federal investigators can or plan to resuscitate a two-year investigation of Armstrong that they abruptly dropped in February.

Read more in the Sunday Times HERE.