Record libel award in Australia
Prominent Australian radio host Alan Jones and two radio stations that carry his broadcasts have been ordered to pay general damages of A$938,746 (£514,000) to each of Denis, John, Neill and Joe Wagner by the… Read More »
Serious harm test not met by aggregation
The High Court has held that the statutory requirement for a defamatory statement to cause serious harm to reputation cannot be met by aggregating injury to reputation caused by two or more less harmful imputations… Read More »
Roberto Carlos settles “banned performance enhancing drugs” libel case
Roberto Carlos, the internationally renowned retired Brazilian footballer has settled his libel action against Associated Newspapers Ltd, publisher of the Mail of Sunday and Mail Online. A statement in open court was read this morning… Read More »
Mian Mansha settles ARY libel claim
Prominent Pakistani businessman and chairman of the Nishat Group Mian Mohammad Mansha has settled his libel claim against ARY Network Limited. In November 2015, on the ‘Kab Tak’ programme, ARY broadcast various allegations against Mr… Read More »
Mail apologises to Earl Spencer
Associated Newspapers Ltd, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail Online, today offered its unreserved apologies in court to Earl Spencer, brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, for having published a false allegation… Read More »
Foster carer settles anonymous letter claim
On 21 June 2018 a statement in open court was read on behalf of foster carer, Francine West, known as Paris, to settle a libel and malicious falsehood claim brought by her against 24Seven Fostering… Read More »
Statement in Open Court in Sasha Wass QC libel claim
On 12 June 2018 an agreed Statement in Open Court was read before Mr Justice Nicklin in which Associated Newspapers Ltd apologised for an article it published in October 2016 in the Mail on Sunday… Read More »
Lachaux settles HuffPost claim
Today the parties in Lachaux v AOL (UK) Ltd made a joint Statement in Open Court, bringing to an end Mr Lachaux’s long-running libel dispute with online news provider, the Huffington Post UK. The claim,… Read More »
5RB acts in “unparalleled” Australian libel case
Two of 5RB’s members, Tom Blackburn SC and Patrick McCafferty, are appearing for the claimant Wagner family in what Tom Blackburn SC has described to the court as “a defamation that is unparalleled as far… Read More »
5RB Podcasts on Interim Injunctions
5RB Podcasts – Privacy Interim Injunctions. Desmond Browne QC moderates a discussion with Alex Marzec and Adam Speker on Interim Injunctions. In Part One they explore how to seek and defend an interim injunction application up… Read More »
Monir v Wood trial begins
The claim is against the former Chairman of the UKIP Bristol Branch for a tweet published by the Branch’s Twitter account. The account published the tweet shortly before the General Election in May 2015, when… Read More »
Supreme Court grants PTA in Lachaux
On 21 March 2018, the UK Supreme Court (Lord Kerr, Lord Reed and Lady Black) granted permission to appeal to Independent Print Limited (‘IPL’) in the leading case on the interpretation of section 1(1) of… Read More »
5RB ‘stands above the competition’
5RB and a number of its members have been praised in the latest edition of international legal directory Who’s Who Legal. All four silks, and nine juniors, were identified as “top-tier barristers… the leading individuals… Read More »
New defamation textbook publications
December 2017 saw two new publications of textbooks for defamation practitioners: The 2nd Supplement to the 12th Edition of Gatley on Libel and Slander The Second Supplement includes full updates on all developments in defamation… Read More »
Katie Hopkins refused permission to appeal
The Court of Appeal has refused permission to appeal to Katie Hopkins, who had sought to challenge the decision at trial of Warby J in the ‘Twitter Libel Trial’: Jack Monroe v Katie Hopkins [2017] EWHC… Read More »
Scottish Law Commission proposes defamation reforms
On 14 December 2017 the Scottish Law Commission published its report recommending reform of defamation law in Scotland. The report proposes changes including the introduction of a serious harm requirement, a reduction in the limitation period… Read More »
Statement in Open Court in Suresh v Samad and others
On 1 December 2017 Mr Selvaratnam Suresh a registered charity, made a Statement in Open Court, marking the end of his libel claim against Abdul Samad, Amirthalingam Nagaraja and Kajananan Sathananthan. The Claimant is the… Read More »
“The pre-eminent set”: Chambers UK
5RB is the only set of chambers listed as ‘Band 1’ for Defamation and Privacy work in the newly published Chambers UK Bar Guide for 2018. The set and members are also recommended in the field… Read More »
5RB Defamation Set of the Year
5RB and Adam Wolanski won awards at the Chambers UK Bar Awards last night. 5RB was named Defamation Set of the Year, while Adam Wolanski was named Junior of the Year for his notable work over the… Read More »
5RB Podcast on the Lachaux decision
On Tuesday 10th October, 5RB held a panel discussion to review the recent Court of Appeal decision in Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd, Evening Standard Ltd, AOL (UK) Ltd. and its ramifications for the serious harm threshold. On the night, Desmond… Read More »