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Libel ruling is victory for British journalism
Frances Gibb (Legal Editor, The Times)
From: The Times, October 12, 2006
DATELINE: 13/10/06
THE freedom to publish allegations about public figures free from the 'chilling' threat of libel laws was won by the British media in a landmark House of Lords ruling yesterday.
In a judgment that lawyers predict will usher in a new era of journalism, five law lords unanimously ruled in favour of a public interest defence that brings English law close to the freedom enjoyed by US media.
Journalists will be able to publish material if they act responsibly and in the public interest, and be free from the risk of libel damages, even if allegations later prove untrue.
The judges, who constitute Britain's highest court, said that the media were entitled to publish defamatory allegations as part of its duty of neutral reporting, or if it believed them to be of substance, and to raise matters of public interest.
The ruling came in an appeal by The Wall Street Journal Europe against a High Court decision, backed by the Court of Appeal, that it should pay £40,000 damages to Mohammad Jameel, a billionaire Saudi car dealer, whose family owns Harwell Motors in Oxford.
The story, published in February 2002, said that bank accounts associated with a number of prominent Saudi citizens, including Mr Jameel's family and their businesses, had been monitored by the Saudi Government at the request of United States authorities to ensure that no money was provided intentionally or knowingly to support terrorists. The ruling clarifies and simplifies the right of the media to plead the 'Reynolds defence' to libel claims, namely that what they published was in the public interest.
Lord Hoffmann, giving the lead judgment, said that the article was a perfect example of journalism for which the public interest defence should be available. It was for judges to apply the public interest test, but the article in the Journal easily passed that test, he said.
Its thrust was to inform the public that the Saudis were co-operating with the US Treasury. 'It was a serious contribution in measured tone to a subject of very considerable importance.'
It could not be proved true because the existence of covert surveillance would be impossible to prove by evidence in open court. But that did not mean it did not happen.
The newspaper was entitled to report even serious defamations against individuals, so long as they 'made a real contribution to the public interest element in the article.'
Lord Hoffmann also said that judges, with 'leisure and hindsight', should not second-guess editorial decisions made in busy newsrooms. 'That would make the publication of articles which are . . . in the public interest too risky and would discourage investigative reporting,' he added.
The key test was whether a media organisation or newspaper acted fairly and responsibly in gathering and publishing the information. If the reporter and editor did so, and the information was of public importance, then the fact that it contained relevant but defamatory allegations against prominent people would not permit them to recover libel damages.
Lord Bingham of Cornhill, the senior law lord, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Scott of Foscote and Baroness Hale of Richmond agreed. Lady Hale said: 'We need more such serious journalism in this country and our defamation law should encourage rather than discourage it.'
Geoffrey Robertson, QC, who argued the case for the paper, said the decision gave British media more freedom to publish newsworthy stories.
Caroline Kean, litigation partner at the media law firm Wiggin, said: 'This ruling is extremely important because it makes clear it is not appropriate for ‘responsible journalism’ to be interpreted narrowly.'
Last modified: Tuesday, November 14, 2006
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Notices
Events & Announcements
World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download Freepress in PDF, ePub or mobi format. Issue 194 now available.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
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Previous stories
Free Speech & Censorship
Memoirs and Whistleblowers
Shayler Silenced
Official Secrets Act: Where are we now?
The Price of Freedom
Another success for British justice
MI5 whistleblower back in court
The Danish cartoon controversy and World Press Freedom Day
Improving Cultural Communication
The Need for Context
The Danish Cartoon Controversy
IFEX conference highlights freedom of expression
Statement of Media Professionals Meeting to Discuss the Danish Cartoons Controversy
Freedom of Expression or Hate Speech
Religion and Freedom of the Press
CPBF response to the cartoons
Cover-ups, lies and censorship
CPBF response to the cartoons
The Danish Cartoon Controversy
IFJ call for debate as cartoons cost editor his job
All the news that doesn't fit
Gagging the truth
Borris Johnson vows 'I'll go to jail to print the truth'
UK paper gagged over Aljazeera memo
Freedom of Information Blockage
FoI training from the Campaign for Freedom of information
Journalists worldwide protest Canada's news lockout
Australia gets tough on journalists
Government to consult over Freedom of Information and the PCC
A law unto itself
Community Newspaper uses FoI Act
