UK: Spectator fined after admitting reporting breach
June 7th, 2012
The Spectator has been ordered to pay £5,600 after admitting a November 2011 article about the trial of Stephen Lawrence‘s killers breached a court order. Associate editor Rod Liddle’s piece claimed defendants Gary Dobson and David Norris — who were convicted in January 2012 of Lawrence’s 1993 murder — would not get a fair trial. It appeared in the magazine after the trial had started and an order imposed on reports that could influence the jury’s view of the defendants. The judge said the article caused a brief moment in which the trial was in jeopardy, but the magazine’s swift apology and removal of the piece online meant it was not undermined. The magazine’s lawyer apologised for its “bitterly regrettable” failure to make checks.Tags: Tags: media law, press freedom, Rod Liddle, Spectator, Stephen Lawrence, UK,
The social media campaign against Rod Liddle, rumoured to be made editor of the Independent, is not just illiberal, argues Hari Kunzru, it is dangerous, censorious, and inexcusable. The centre-left has damaged the culture of free speech in Britain