‘Victims of press intrusion have accused the government of breaking its promise over regulation. The group, which includes Kate and Gerry McCann, says a delay in bringing into law a key part of the Royal Charter agreement is a “betrayal”.’
BBC News, 6th April 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Daniel Curran, star of Heir Hunters, has been ordered to disclose documents relating to defamatory allegations made against his rival.’
Daily Telegraph, 23rd February 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘In order to determine the meaning of a publication in defamation, what matters is the publication taken as a whole, a High Court judge has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 19th February 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
‘A transgender couple who claim local villagers subjected them to a campaign of harassment won damages from the council after defamatory comments were published on its website.’
Daily Telegraph, 8th February 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Courts in England have given further guidance on when statements can be said to have caused or be likely to cause ‘serious harm’ under defamation laws, an expert has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 15th January 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
‘Reforms to defamation laws in England and Wales have helped to prevent “trivial claims” being brought before the courts, a campaign group has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 5th January 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
‘A Police Federation official accused of giving a misleading account of a meeting with Plebgate row MP Andrew Mitchell has been found guilty of breaching standards of professional behaviour.’
The Guardian, 18th December 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Metropolitan Police illegally accessed the phone records of a journalist while desperately trying to find the source of a leek during the Plebgate scandal, a tribunal has ruled.’
Daily Telegraph, 17th December 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Last week, The Mirror reported that John Leslie was being questioned by police in connection with an alleged sexual assault. The report contained photographs of the police with evidence bags outside Leslie’s house. The Mirror reminded its readers of allegations made against the former TV presenter in 2002 and 2008. This the most recent example of media reports concerning allegations of sexual offences involving public figures.’
Doughty Street, 2nd December 2015
Source: www.doughtystreet.co.uk
‘On 23 November 2015 Sir Michael Tugendhat set aside an order for service out of the jurisdiction of proceedings for the misuse of private information and libel which had been made by Master Roberts on 31 March 2015 in respect of an article in Politika, a Serbian language newspaper circulating in Serbia and neighbouring countries in hard copy and available in this country only on the internet. Sir Michael held that the Claimant was in breach of his duty of full and frank disclosure and the case is a significant reminder of the duty of candour that rests upon a claimant when seeking permission to serve outside the jurisdiction under CPR 6.36 and of the perils of over-enthusiastic attempts to squeeze foreign claims into this jurisdiction. The case is also important on the question of how section 9(2) Defamation Act 2013 requiring evidence that England and Wales is “clearly the most appropriate place in which to bring an action in respect of the statement” is to be interpreted and the burden it places on a Claimant which the judge decided had not been discharged in this case.’
RPC Data and Privacy Law, 7th December 2015
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
‘One Direction’s Niall Horan has won a round in his libel case over articles he claims imply he used drugs during an evening with fellow musicians Justin Bieber and Cody Simpson.’
The Guardian, 7th December 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Former Conservative MP Tim Yeo has lost his libel case against The Sunday Times over a “cash for advocacy” claim.’
BBC News, 25th November 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘As if tenancy deposits weren’t complicated enough, now we can add libel claims to the consequences of a heated deposit dispute. It turns out that sending potentially libellous accusations to the deposit scheme adjudication service is possibly covered by qualified privilege.’
Nearly Legal, 21st November 2015
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘An action in defamation and under the right to privacy against Facebook has been dismissed in the High Court. The Facebook entity named as defendant did not “control” the publication so as to allow liability; and even if it did, no claim under the Human Rights Act could lie against FB as it could not be described as any sort of a public authority for the purposes of Section 6 of the Act.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 9th November 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The University of Sussex has apologised to a former student, admitting there was “no truth” in its claim that he’d led an unlawful occupation of the university and carried out acts of criminal behaviour.’
The Guardian, 15th October 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Journalists seeking to rely on the new ‘public interest’ defence to a claim of defamation will still have to be able to prove that they have taken steps to verify the accuracy of what they have published, an expert has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 15th October 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
‘A former Conservative MP has told a court his reputation had been “trashed” by a national newspaper which alleged he breached parliamentary codes of conduct.’
BBC News, 12th October 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Brett Wilson LLP v Person(s) Unknown, Responsible for the Operation of the Website solicitorsfromhell.co.uk, 7 September (Warby J) [2015] EWHC 2628 (QB). This was a claim in libel by a firm of solicitors who acted for another firm which also claimed against the operators of SFHUK, causing the original site to be shut down (Law Society v Rick Kordowski [2011]). In this case the words complained of appeared on a new site, but despite efforts by the present claimants, it was not possible to find out who was operating it. The site alleged various aspects of mismanagement, including incompetence and fraud. It also quoted a client of the claimant firm who alleged overcharging and who refused to pay their fees. (It is worth noting that the site appears to have been taken down since default judgement was given in this case).’
UK Human Rights Blog, 17th September 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A High Court judge has ordered the take-down of pages of an anti-solicitor website that contain defamatory statements about a law firm, after a litigation opponent alleged their publication was “evidence that the firm was disreputable”.’
Legal Futures, 17th September 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The veteran Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky is suing the Crown Prosecution Service for libel over a statement it issued in April announcing that he was being charged with child pornography offences.’
The Guardian, 24th August 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2023