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Campbell-James v Guardian Media Group plc
Comment
"It could not have hurt The Guardian to acknowledge promptly, on the basis of uncontroversial facts, that the Claimant had nothing to do with the Abu Ghraib abuses and was not even in Iraq when they took place. For some reason, The Guardian felt unable to take those basic steps. It was not simply a matter of good journalistic practice; it was a matter of elementary human decency.” - The judge's criticism of The Guardian's response in this case can fairly be described as stinging. It stands as a salutary reminder to all media defendants of the need to act reasonably and responsibly as soon as it becomes clear that a mistake has been made. The damages award is by far the largest yet made under s.3(5) Defamation Act 1996 and shows that the regime can be effective for the most serious libels, and not simply the classic tabloid fodder that previous cases might have been thought to represent.