Cases

McKeith v News Group Newspapers Ltd

Held

(1) There was no common sting between the two allegations, especially as the former one contained an implicit allegation of dishonesty; (2) The principles of case management post-CPR meant a claimant should be allowed to concentrate on the 'central' issue of complaint, namely the deceitful doctorate allegation. The nutritional debate could readily be dealt with by admissions as in US Tobacco. (3) Following the Court of Appeal’s ruling in Jameel v Wall Street Journal, it is necessary, especially in non-reportage cases, for the defendant to plead the state of mind of the relevant journalists as to the truth of what was published. (4) Even assuming all of the factual assertions in the plea in the newspaper’s favour, the defence had no realistic prospect of succeeding.

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