Cases

McPhilemy v Times Newspapers Ltd

Facts

The Defendants applied to re-amend their defence to the Claimant's libel action. The Claimant had brought libel proceedings on a Sunday Times article which suggested that he had fabricated a TV documentary exposing what was alleged to be a sinister Committee which colluded with the security forces in Northern Ireland to murder Republicans. By their proposed amendment, the Defendants wanted to plead justification with a Lucas-Box meaning that the Claimant was a reckless journalist who had produced a programme the central thesis of which was false. The Claimant resisted the amendments on the ground that the article was not capable of bearing the limited meaning of recklessness/incompetence. The article alleged that he had participated in a deliberate hoax.

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