7 Dec 2009 | Uncategorized
Today’s Media Guardian leads with an extract from journalist Tom Bower’s submission to the culture, media and sport committee/
The piece is accompanied by an analysis of the prospects for change — based on Index on Censorship and English PEN’s proposals — written by litigation lawyer Dan Tench. Tench is cautious:
So beyond the important issue of the recovery of libel costs, it appears that further reform to libel law is likely to be complex, controversial and some way off.
4 Dec 2009 | News, United Kingdom
An Index on Censorship event on the politicisation of climate science reflected a growing debate, highlighted by “climategate”. Padraig Reidy reports
(more…)
1 Dec 2009 | Index Index, minipost, News, United Kingdom
Justice Secretary Jack Straw is to establish a working group to examine England’s controversial libel laws. The group will consist of media lawyers, editors and experts. The government has also said it will respond to English Pen and Index on Censorship’s libel report, along with recommendations by the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee within two months of the publication of the Select Committee report.
The working group is expected to convene in January 2010.
27 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
This morning’s Today programme featured Tracey Brown of Sense About Science (a valued partner organisation in the Libel Reform Campaign), cardiologist and libel tourism victim Peter Wilmshurst, and Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve.
You can listen to it all here (07.37 for Tracey, 08.48 for Wilmshurst and Grieve).
Worryingly, Dominic Grieve doesn’t seem to think there’s anything wrong with English libel laws, besides the expense. While expense is a serious concern, it is by no means the main one, as Grieve claims. He posits that people sue in London because of the potential earnings. But this would seem to miss the point: the earnings are attractive, but it is the favourable prospect of winning that makes it worth bringing a case: it is, currently, not a huge gamble to bring a defamation case.
Addressing the specific case of Peter Wilmshurst, Grieve said it was “remarkable” that someone had “chosen” to sue the cardiologist in England. Sadly, it is not remarkable that NMT has “chosen” to bring a suit against Wilmshurst in London. What is remarkable that NMT can bring the suit here.
On libel tourism, Grieve went on to say that if a foreign-published libel is “widely reproduced” in the UK, then a person should have a right to sue: well, quite. But no one, at least not Index on Censorship, English Pen or Sense About Science, has suggested otherwise. The key word is “widely”, a question addressed in Index and PEN’s report.
With the Lib Dems committed to reform, and Labour’s Jack Straw at least making positive noises, isn’t it time the Conservatives started taking libel seriously?
