Johnny Depp loses high-stake libel case against UK tabloid over claims he beat his wife

American actor Johnny Depp lost his libel trial against British tabloid over 'wife beater' claims, it was announced on Monday.

High Court Judge Andrew Nicol dismissed the 57-year-old's claim saying the newspaper group's article had been proven to be "substantially true", adding "the claimant has not succeeded in his action for libel".

The actor sued the tabloid's publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) and the author of the article over claims he was violent to ex-wife Amber Heard during their volatile two-year marriage.

Three weeks of rancorous testimony at the case dubbed "the biggest English libel trial of the 21st century" included claims of drug abuse and domestic violence.

"I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp have been proved to the civil standard," said judge Nicol, meaning he deemed the claims more likely than not to be true on the balance of probability.

"I have reached these conclusions having examined in detail the 14 incidents on which the defendants rely as well as the overarching considerations which the claimant submitted I should take into account," he added.

The Sun in response thanked the judge for his "careful consideration" and Amber Heard "for her courage in giving evidence to the court."

Depp had refuted claims of being physically abusive towards his ex-wife and instead alleged her of domestic violence.

He had called the Aquaman star a 'compulsive liar' and had also claimed that photos of her with a black eye were 'fake' and were circulated just to 'smear his name'.