US actress Amber Heard will pay Johnny Depp $1m (£820,000) in a settlement of their defamation suit, lawyers for Mr Depp told the BBC.

Announcing the settlement earlier on Monday, Ms Heard, 36, said the decision was "not an act of concession".

"Even if my US appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a retrial," she said. "I simply cannot go through that."

The payment of $1M - which Mr. Depp is pledging and will donate to charities - reinforces Ms. Heard's acknowledgement of the conclusion of the legal system's rigorous pursuit for justice. 

The sum is a significant reduction from the $8.35 million she was ordered to pay after a six-week trial in Virginia earlier this year. The payment is expected to come from her insurance carrier.

Heard wrote "I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed. 

Heard further wrote “The vilification on social media is an amplified version of the ways in which women are re-victimised when they come forward."

"I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder," Heard said in an Instagram post .

Heard also criticized the U.S. justice system saying that in that court room "popularity and power mattered more than reason and due process."

"We are pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter for Mr. Depp, who made clear throughout this process that his priority was about bringing the truth to light," Chew said to NPR.