Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Good news on libel at last
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/mar/15/medialaw-kenneth-clarke
It’s good to see that the law of libel is being properly reviewed.
Hopefully this time it will set a better balance between the right to publish things which the public should know (rather than that which they may want to know) and the ability of the rich and powerful to use threats of libel suits to prevent publication or negotiate out-of-court settlements from papers which fear the costs of putting up a defence.
This also needs to ensure ordinary people can use libel to correct wrongs done to them by careless and reckless journalism without the use of the now discredited conditional fee arrangements.
Labels: libel, newspapers
