Cases

Brent Walker Group Plc v Time Out Ltd

Held

Dismissing the appeal, (1) the privilege for what is said in court is that of the witness; it does not extend to those who report what is said; they have privilege only for fair and accurate reports of proceedings; (2) the law requires a defendant relying on the defence of fair comment to show that his comment was based on a true account of the facts or a report which is privileged, because it is fair and accurate; (3) per Bingham LJ, the defence of fair comment on privileged material is an exception to the general rule that comment must be on true facts; policy does not justify widening the scope of the exception.

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