Sasha Rodoy loses libel claim against Optical Express
Mr Justice Griffiths has today handed down judgment following the recent eight-day trial of the libel claim brought by campaigner Sasha Rodoy against Optical Express Ltd, a provider of refractive eye surgery. The claim related… Read More »
Bridgen v Hancock: appeal on honest opinion defence
The Court of Appeal will hear today, 20 May 2026, an appeal by the Defendant (former Health Secretary, Matt Hancock) against the refusal by Collins Rice J to summarily dismiss the libel claim brought by… Read More »
Gibraltar Regulatory Authority Data Protection Workshop 2026
Julian Santos KC will be speaking at the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority Data Protection Workshop 2026, titled ‘Data Protection Today for a Trusted Tomorrow’ on Wednesday, 20 May. The workshop will provide a valuable platform to… Read More »
Four Jurisdictions’ Conference 2026
5RB’s Felicity McMahon will be at the Four Jurisdictions Law Conference 2026, taking place in Edinburgh from 15 to 17 May. Felicity will be speaking on Saturday, 16 May, on the Regulation of Social Media, joined… Read More »
London International Disputes Week 2026 (LIDW)
Charles Russell Speechlys is kindly hosting a panel discussion as part of London International Disputes Week 2026, exploring the rapidly evolving landscape of media law and reputation management. The event takes place on Thursday, 4… Read More »
The artist known as Banksy awarded indemnity costs following discontinuance of libel claim
In a judgment handed down on 1 April 2026, the High Court (Nicklin J) awarded indemnity costs against the Claimant, Full Colour Black Ltd (“FCB”), following the discontinuance of its libel claim against the artist known… Read More »
Financier Crispin Odey discontinues £79m libel claim
Financier Crispin Odey has discontinued his £79 million libel claim against the publisher of the Financial Times (FT) over its reporting of sexual misconduct allegations against him. The action was brought by Mr Odey over… Read More »
Judgment in Tooley v Times Media Ltd
On 23 March 2026, Mrs Justice Steyn DBE handed down judgment in respect of Cynthia Nkiruka Tooley MBE’s applications for an interim injunction and for Norwich Pharmacal relief against TML. The subject of the underlying proceedings… Read More »
Long running libel claim in Fry v Agilah settled
A long running libel claim in the case of Fry v Agilah settled with the reading of a statement in open court on Friday. The Claimant had sued over an email sent in April 2021… Read More »
Mirror hacking: 4 of 5 claims dismissed
Mr Justice Fancourt has today handed down judgment following the recent trial in the phone hacking litigation against MGN Ltd, publishers of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People, and has dismissed 4 of… Read More »
Judgment in TPI over allegations of bias in BBC News reporting
Judgment has been handed down today in the Trial of Preliminary Issues in Berg v Jones [2026] EWHC 564 (KB). The case concerned an article written by Owen Jones and published on Drop Site News… Read More »
First ‘statutory SLAPP’ declared by High Court in libel claim
In a judgment handed down today, [2026] EWHC 551 (KB), Mrs Justice Collins Rice has for the first time declared that a claim is a ‘statutory SLAPP’. This follows the coming into force last June… Read More »
Injunction and Statement in Eni Aluko’s claim against Joseph Barton
Footballer Joseph Barton was made the subject of an injunction, and a Statement in Open Court was read before Lavender J, at a hearing in Eni Aluko’s claim against Mr Barton for libel and harassment,… Read More »
Final hearing concludes in landmark journalistic communications data claim against MI5 and the PSNI
The final hearing before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in the claim brought by Vincent Kearney and the BBC against MI5, the PSNI, the Metropolitan Police Service, Durham Constabulary and others has concluded after two days…. Read More »
5RB Hosts BVL, PASS and MTAttB Placement Students
Over the last month, 5RB has taken part in three access schemes for aspiring lawyers. The first was hosted through the Middle Temple Access to the Bar Award. The scheme is open to undergraduate and… Read More »
Judgment in TPI on Meaning in Belafonte v NGN
On 11 February 2026, Mrs Justice Collins Rice handed down judgment in the TPI on meaning in a libel claim brought by Stephen Belafonte against NGN (publishers of The Sun newspaper). Mr Belafonte contended that… Read More »
High Court hears the first application to strike out a claim as a SLAPP under CPR 3.4(2)(d)
Yesterday, Mrs Justice Collins Rice heard the first application brought before the High Court under CPR 3.4(2)(d) to strike out a claim as a SLAPP. The application was brought by the Defendants in the case… Read More »
Jonathan Scherbel-Ball reappointed to Advisory Council on National Records and Archives
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced that Jonathan Scherbel-Ball has been reappointed for a further four year term on the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives. Jonathan has sat on the… Read More »
Phone hacking limitation trial begins
A trial of the preliminary issue of limitation begins today in the remaining phone hacking claims brought by various claimants against MGN Limited, publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People. Following a… Read More »
TPI on Meaning in Belafonte v NGN
A trial of preliminary issues on meaning will take place today before Mrs Justice Collins Rice in respect of an article published in The Sun (online and in print) in June 2024 concerning Stephen Belafonte,… Read More »