Representatives of the local and regional press continue to express concern about the key Leveson recommendation that a self-regulator must offer an “arbitration service”. The purpose of this recommendation is to provide “access to justice” for complainants whilst reducing the burden of legal costs for publishers. Continue reading
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The most high profile media case of the week was Lord McAlpine’s claim against Sally Bercow. After Mr Justice Tugendhat’s ruling that Ms Bercow’s tweet made a serious defamatory allegation against Lord McAlpine ([2013] EWHC 1342 (QB)), a settlement of the claim was announced. Continue reading
If you want to find mistakes in papers look at the pictures. The Sun on Sunday has just paid out in a libel settlement after running a story about a man discovering he was the son of Fred West – but the picture they printed on the front page was the man’s half-brother who was entirely unconnected to the serial killer. It has been reported that a five figure sum has changed hands as a result. Continue reading
Looking back at the early ‘red flags’ of corruption and the tabloids is instructive. This post will look at warning signs at the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS or MET) in the period, roughly 2000-2005. It’s a convenient timespan as it coincides with three top level rank constants – Continue reading
In a judgment handed down on 24 May 2013 ([2013] EWHC 1342 (QB)) Mr Justice Tugendhat ruled that a tweet sent by Sally Bercow bore the “natural and ordinary” defamatory meaning that Lord McAlpine “was a paedophile who was guilty of sexually abusing boys living in care“. In the alternative, he held that the tweet bore an “innuendo meaning” to the same effect. The Guardian reports that Ms Bercow said she was “surprised and disappointed” by the ruling but accepted it as the end of the matter. A settlement has now been agreed between the parties. Continue reading
In this final part of four posts by Timothy Pinto of Taylor Wessing, assessment is provided on further key provisions of the Defamation Act 2013. These are the single publication rule, action against a person not domiciled in the EU, the presumption of trials by judge, and publication by losing defendants of a summary of the court’s judgment. Part 1 was on “Serious Harm, Truth and Honest Opinion“, Part 2 on “Public Interest and Privilege” and Part 3 on “Intermediary liability“. Continue reading
In R (on the application of A) v Lowestoft Magistrates Court ([2013] EWHC 659 (Admin)) the Administrative Court refused to make an anonymity order in favour of a Labour Councillor and reaffirmed the importance of transparency and open justice. Continue reading
In this third part of four posts by Timothy Pinto of Taylor Wessing, he assesses the liability of intermediaries under the Defamation Act 2013. Part 1 dealt with “Serious Harm, Truth and Honest Opinion” and Part 2 with “Public Interest and Privilege“. Continue reading
The freedom of expression NGO, Article 19, has published a policy paper on the “Right to Blog” [pdf]. Article 19 proposes a set of recommendations to state actors and policy makers about what they should do to promote and protect the rights of bloggers domestically and internationally. Continue reading
In this second part of four posts by Timothy Pinto of Taylor Wessing, he considers the changes to common law and statutory privilege which will result from the Defamation Act 2013. Part 1 on “Serious Harm, Truth and Honest Opinion” can be found here. Continue reading
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