As you may know by now, Index on Censorship and English PEN are running an inquiry into English libel.
Jonathan Heawood of English PEN spoke to the Bookseller about the disastrously lop-sided defamation laws, and particularly the effect they have on book publishers:
‘We’ve been startled by the extent of this problem. Stories and books, which have a strong claim to the public interest, have been suppressed by the threat of libel action. Because of the extortionate costs involved, most publishers would rather settle out of court than face the risk of an unsuccessful trial.
‘Some larger firms are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds defending themselves. For independent publishers, that level of expenditure simply isn’t an option.’
The rest is here
