Year: 2009

Mohammed George, an actor who appeared in the soap opera Eastenders, has today won his libel claim against The Sun. Mohammed George, a regular in the BBC programme for 5 years, sued the newspaper over allegations that… Read More »

  Sir Elton John has confirmed that he will not challenge the Court of Appeal’s refusal to hear his appeal in a libel claim brought in relation to a spoof diary item published in The… Read More »

Sir Christopher Meyer, the outgoing chair of the Press Complaints Commission has accused media law firms of using a 10 March Commons select committee hearing on press standards to launch an offensive against his organisation…. Read More »

The trial of a claim brought by an actor who appeared in the soap opera Eastenders against The Sun began in the High Court today. Mohammed George, a regular in the BBC programme for 5… Read More »

A Liverpool businessman last week withdrew his libel claim against a former colleague in the West Wirral Conservative Association shortly after the conclusion of his cross-examination. Bahram Noorani had sued Richard Calver over a letter… Read More »

  Barclays Bank today won a continuation of a court order preventing the Guardian from republishing confidential documents relating to a tax avoidance plan. The bank forced the newspaper to remove several internal memos from… Read More »

The European Court of Human Rights has unanimously held that the application of the "internet publication" rule, as opposed to the US single publication doctrine, does not violate Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights…. Read More »

President of the FIA, Max Mosley, and Gerry McCann, the father of missing girl Madeleine, today gave evidence to the cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee as part of its wide-ranging investigation into press… Read More »

The Government has launched a consultation paper on proposals to curb legal costs in defamation actions. Acknowledging media organisations’ concerns that litigation costs in defamation actions were having an effect on freedom of expression and… Read More »

Sir Christopher Meyer, the chairman of the Press Complaints Commision has called into question the validity of the recent Media Standards Trust report which heavily criticised the PCC. In a letter to MST board member Anthony… Read More »

A study commissioned by Associated Newspapers has concluded that Conditional Fee Agreements are incompatible with Articles 6 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The study compared costs in defamation cases in English procedings… Read More »

The Press Complaints Commission is investigating allegations that two newspapers made payments to the parents of the 13-year-old father of a baby girl born last week. The birth of the child to Alfie Patten and… Read More »

A review by The Media Standards Trust (MST) has concluded that the current system of press self-regulation is "incapable of dealing with the serious and growing threats to press standards and press freedom." The MST report,… Read More »

The House of Lords has today published a report critical of the expansion of ‘surveillance society’ and warning that the right to privacy is being undermined by pervasive and routine electronic surveillance and collection of… Read More »

5RB hosted its annual charity pub quiz yesterday evening, to raise funds for the Bar Pro Bono Unit and the Free Representation Unit (FRU). Teams from leading media organisations and solicitors firms entered the competition to win the first… Read More »

The nine day retrial of the libel action brought by a former spokesman for the head of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales against Associated Newspapers over an article in the Daily Mail has resulted in a £30,000 damages award…. Read More »

Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, has indicated that a select committee of MPs will examine the developing law of privacy, apparently in response to the recent criticism of the current state of the law by… Read More »

A UK national working in Bulgaria as a property advisor and his property company received £35,000 in settlement of their libel claims against Express Newspapers in relation to allegations of Mafia-style intimidation of customers. An… Read More »

Accusations that the Press Complaints Commission is too weak and merely a ‘fig leaf’ for press ills have been dismissed by PCC Chairman Sir Christopher Meyer. Speaking at an event held by the Media Society, Meyer said: "Nothing makes editors… Read More »

A Manchester dental technician today accepted a formal apology and £50,000 damages from the BBC over allegations he had been charged with car finance fraud. Mohammed Amar sued for libel and breach of privacy over… Read More »