Cases

Haji-Ioannou v (1) Dixon (2) Regus Group PLC (3) Regan

Held

The court was being asked to exercise a draconian power and should only do so in an exceptional case. Publication of a libel or indeed a slander to one person may be trivial in one context, but more serious than publication to many more in another. Much depends upon the nature of the allegation, and the identity of the person about whom and the person(s) to whom it is made;

C was an extremely well-known businessman and the allegations were capable of bearing a very serious meaning and were made to a journalist from the FT for him to pass on to the newspaper’s readers;

It could not be said that damages were likely to be minimal if C wins at trial. The allegations were serious and any award would take account of the effect on C of the unsuccessful plea of justification.

Also