Cases

Lillie & Reed v Newcastle City Council & Others (No.2)

Held

(giving judgment for the claimants against the authors of the report and awarding damages of £200,000 each and giving judgment for the council against the claimants) (1) The allegations of child abuse were untrue. The Court was entirely satisfied that the claimants were innocent. (2) The Review Team had a defence of qualified privilege but it was vitiated by express malice since they abused the occasion, acted in bad faith and consciously set out to distort and misrepresent the evidence. (3) The Council's publication was privileged under the LGA and was not vitiated by malice. (4) The Court was satisfied that each of the claimants had merited an award at the highest permitted level and both had earned it several times over because of the scale, gravity and persistence of the allegations and aggravating factors. They were entitled to be vindicated and recognised as innocent citizens who should be free for what remained of their lives untouched by the stigma of child abuse.

Also