Find
Quick links
Cases
McPhilemy v Times Newspapers Ltd
Comment
Despite the Court of Appeal's warning about libel actions turning into public inquiries, the trial of this case started to look just like that. The issue of truth/falsity of the Committee thesis was litigated at the trial, with the jury finally concluding that the Defendants had not proved that the Committee did not exist. Their appeal to set aside this verdict as perverse was dismissed as an abuse of process and the subsequent Court of Appeal criticised the consequences of this decision. Lord Woolf has an attack on libel pleadings and skirmishes, suggesting that pleadings should be concise and leave the details for witness statements.