The Wagatha Christie libel case is now over, with Rebekah Vardy losing her lawsuit against fellow football WAG (short for wives and girlfriends) Coleen Rooney in a high court judgement that questioned Vardy’s credibility as a witness. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Category: Libel (Page 1 of 93)
The reform of defamation law in Northern Ireland has been a long awaited and much-contested issue since the introduction in England and Wales of the Defamation Act 2013 (the 2013 Act). We last discussed this issue as part of our Defamation update in March, which can be accessed here. Continue reading
Back in March, exercising rare concern for those exploited by the super-rich, the government issued an ‘urgent call for evidence’ that promised, based upon ‘third party and anecdotal evidence’ [42], ‘quick and effective’ action against Strategic Litigation against Public Participation (“SLAPPs”). Continue reading
On 29 July 2022, Mrs Justice Steyn handed down judgment in the highest profile libel case of the year, Vardy v Rooney [2022] EWHC 2017 (QB). The libel claim was dismissed. Continue reading
On 20 July 2022 the Government published its response to the call for evidence on Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation [pdf] with a Foreword by Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab. This document summarises the evidence on each of the 45 questions posed in the “Call for Evidence” and sets out the Government response to each one. It is a disappointing document which includes no clear concrete proposals and is, in important respects, wholly inadequate. Continue reading
The judgment in Lee v Brown [2022] EWHC 1699 (QB) was handed down on 1 July 2022. I wrote about the case after I attended one day of a hearing on 20 June. This update isn’t going to go into detail on defamation law but will, I hope, explain further why I think the scaremongering after Depp v Heard (US trial) was exaggerated. Fear of being threatened with libel should never stop anyone reporting abuse. Continue reading
The most recent annual Judicial Statistics – those for 2021 – appear to show a very substantial increase in the number of issued defamation claims. According to the Ministry of Justice Royal Courts of Justice Tables for 2021 there were 545 issued defamation claims. Continue reading
In his post of 25 May 2022 Iain Wilson asked whether Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are “a real problem or a defendant’s wildcard”. As co-chairs of the UK Working Group on SLAPPs we are regularly confronted with the all-too real effects of SLAPPs on public watchdogs – those, such as journalists and activists, whose role it is to hold the powerful to account. The problem with responding to Iain Wilson’s claims of exaggeration, however, is that we ultimately have to address a counterfactual: what information would have been published had it not been subject to a SLAPP? Continue reading
Arron Banks has been granted permission to appeal against Steyn J’s decision in his unsuccessful libel action against journalist Carole Cadwalladr. On 24 June 2022, one of five grounds for permission to appeal was successful, related to the serious harm test post-publication of the Electoral Commission report that found no evidence of law breaking by Banks. Continue reading
This is Part 2 of a post discussing the judgment in Banks v Cadwalladr. This final part deals with the impact meaning and intention had on the defences open to the defendant, specifically the public interest defence. Part 1 can be found here. Continue reading
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