Category: News

A journalist with the German weekly magazine Stern has won an important victory in the European Court of Human Rights in relation to protection of sources.   In February and March 2002, the journalist, Hans Tillack, published two articles in… Read More »

The Daily Mail has paid “substantial damages” in an out-of-court settlement with former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and his wife Cherie after the newspaper published photographs of the Blairs on holiday in the Caribbean.   The Blairs complained that… Read More »

A vet’s appeal against his removal from the register of veterinary surgeons by a Disciplinary Committee of the RCVS was today allowed by the Privy Council, and a penalty of six months substituted in its place.   Dr Alan… Read More »

The Wiltshire Gazette & Herald has been fined £3,000 and ordered to pay legal costs after identifying a child in breach of an order under s.39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. The newspaper,… Read More »

Christian Voice, an evangelical group, has launched judicial review proceedings of a magistrates’ court decision not to prosecute the BBC and the theatrical producers of Jerry Springer – The Opera for blasphemous libel. The controversial stage… Read More »

Broadcasting regulator Ofcom has today dismissed all complaints against Channel 4 Dispatches programme Undercover Mosque, including a claim by West Midlands Police that the programme had misrepresented the views of Muslim preachers and clerics through misleading editing. As… Read More »

Northern Rock plc last night obtained a short term injunction against the Financial Times and other media organisations preventing any further disclosure of a leaked briefing memorandum prepared by the bank’s advisers and provided to… Read More »

A French court has ruled that the Wikipedia Foundation, the US-based organisation that runs Wikipedia, the free user-generated internet encyclopedia, is not liable for defamatory content posted on the site by anonymous third parties. Three… Read More »

Mohamed Taranissi, statistically the UK‘s most successful fertility doctor, has reached an agreement to settle his libel claim against the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Former chief executive Angela McNab had claimed on a… Read More »

Mr Justice Eady today awarded Rashid Ghannouchi £165,000 damages for allegations that he was an Islamic extremist with links to Al Qaeda who deserved to be expelled from the UK.   The allegations were published by… Read More »

The annual Chambers & Partners review of the legal profession has named 5RB as a leading set for Defamation & Privacy and Media & Entertainment Law and a notable set for Intellectual Property and Sports Law.   5RB came equal top in Defamation & Privacy, with the independent… Read More »

Channel 4 has been cleared over this summer’s Big Brother race row after Ofcom ruled that the broadcaster was right to show student Emily Parr using the word “nigger” in a conversation with other housemates because… Read More »

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered four police forces to delete old criminal convictions from the Police National Computer. The ICO ruled that retention of old convictions is contrary to the principles of the Data… Read More »

Channel Four has been ordered to hand over eye-witness accounts gathered for a documentary into the paparazzi involvement in the Diana crash to the Inquest being conducted by Lord Justice Scott-Baker. The C4 documentary, The Witnesses in the Tunnel broadcast… Read More »

In an important trade mark, copyright and passing off decision, the High Court decided today that, 40 years after England’s historic 1966 World Cup win, the Football Association could prevent pretenders from registering the tournament mascot ‘World… Read More »

Trinity Mirror and Newsquest are appealing against an order under s.11 of the Contempt of Court Act which prohibits publication of the identity of a man who pleaded guilty to 20 charges of making and possessing indecent… Read More »

The Court of Appeal today allowed the appeal of journalist Graeme McLagan against the dismissal of his qualified privilege defence in a libel action brought by a former police officer over the book Bent Coppers…. Read More »

The Bar Council has announced its officers for 2008 and Joint-Head of 5RB, Desmond Browne QC has been elected as Vice-Chairman of the Bar.   Desmond Browne has been Chairman of the Bar Council’s Working… Read More »

5RB is pleased to announce that Matthew Nicklin has been named Defamation & Privacy Junior Barrister of the Year at the annual Chambers & Partners Bar Awards.    The awards, hosted by barrister and broadcaster Clive Anderson, were presented… Read More »

Media regulator Ofcom has today fined GMTV a record £2,000,000 for misconduct in viewer phone-in competitions between August 2003 and February 2007. In its ruling, Ofcom said the case “involved the widespread and systematic deception… Read More »