The case of Banks v Cadwalladr concluded before Steyn J in the Royal Courts of Justice this week, with Cadwalladr arguing that her belief that the “covert relationship” between Banks and the Russian government was reasonable; the defence of public interest applies. She argued the meaning that the court ascribed to the words complained of (that Banks had received Russian money, or lied about receiving Russian money) was not what she intended. Rather, she only meant to imply about the extent of his contacts with Russia. Judgement is reserved. Inforrm published an article on the closing submissions here. Continue reading
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Category: Media (Page 1 of 150)
The first high-profile libel trial of 2022 began last week with Banks v Cadwalladr. Aaron Banks, a businessman and pro-Brexit political donor, is suing freelance journalist Carole Cadwalladr, for a comment made in her 2019 Ted Talk which was held to mean that Mr Banks had lied about his relationship with the Russian government and acceptance of foreign funding. Continue reading
The Inforrm Winter Break ends today with the beginning of the Hilary Legal Term. The term begins today and ends, 13 weeks later, on 13 April 2022. This Round Up covers developments since the last round up on 20 December 2021. Continue reading
Advertising regulation remained in the spotlight in 2021, with several developments on so many fronts. This post provides a list of important highlights from the last twelve months. Continue reading
The deeply partisan report of the Senate Inquiry into Media Diversity, tabled on 9 December 2021, is a disappointment. The main report by the Greens and Labor endorsed the campaign by former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull for a royal commission into media diversity and ownership, which they want to examine the influence of News Corporation and its owner, Rupert Murdoch. Continue reading
On 8 and 9 December 2021, the settlement of 15 phone hacking claims against News Group Newspapers was announced in a series of statements in open court. Most attention was given to the statement read by actress Sienna Miller, which made a number of allegations against The Sun for what was described as “prolonged” and “substantial” phone hacking, and leaking news that Ms Miller was pregnant. Continue reading
The Duchess of Sussex has won the latest round of her privacy and copyright claim against the Mail on Sunday, with a unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal upholding the decision of the High Court ([2021] EWCA Civ 1810). The matter now returns to the High Court for compensation to be determined. Continue reading
The Daily Mail is at it again. In 2016, they famously labelled three Court of Appeal judges as “Enemies of the People” for ruling that an important decision had to be referred to Parliament. Continue reading
The reaction of the Daily Mail today to its court defeat at the hands of the Duchess of Sussex is both dishonest and cynical. In a leading article and also in an opinion piece promoted at the top of the front page it makes a case that it is the victim of injustice because judges have again seen fit to give victory to the Duchess without holding a trial. Continue reading
Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has successfully passed the first stage of his libel claim against journalist Catherine Belton and publisher HarperCollins for allegations made in the best-selling book, Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On The West (Abramovich v HarperCollins and Catherine Belton [2021] EWHC 3154 (QB)). Continue reading
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