Cases

Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd

Facts

The Plaintiff, a prominent public figure in Ireland, began proceedings for defamation against the Defendants, the publishers of an article contained in the British mainland edition of a national newspaper. The publication related to the political crisis in Ireland in 1994 culiminating in the Plaintiff's resignation as Taoiseach and the collapse of the Irish government. The Plaintiff claimed that the words bore the meaning that he had deliberately lied to mislead the Dial and his cabinet colleagues. The Defendants pleaded, inter alia, qualified privilege at common law. At the trial the jury returned a verdict in the Plaintiff's favour and awarded the sum of 1p by way of damages. The Court of Appeal set aside the jury's verdict and ordered a retrial on the grounds of misdirections to the jury. The Court also ruled that the defence of qualified privilege was not available. The Defendants appealed.

Also