Select committee to review privacy law
Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, has indicated that a select committee of MPs will examine the developing law of privacy, apparently in response to the recent criticism of the current state of the law by… Read More »
Express pays £35k to a property advisor for Mafia slurs
A UK national working in Bulgaria as a property advisor and his property company received £35,000 in settlement of their libel claims against Express Newspapers in relation to allegations of Mafia-style intimidation of customers. An… Read More »
Self regulation is no ‘fig leaf’: Meyer
Accusations that the Press Complaints Commission is too weak and merely a ‘fig leaf’ for press ills have been dismissed by PCC Chairman Sir Christopher Meyer. Speaking at an event held by the Media Society, Meyer said: "Nothing makes editors… Read More »
£50,000 for dentist accused of car finance fraud
A Manchester dental technician today accepted a formal apology and £50,000 damages from the BBC over allegations he had been charged with car finance fraud. Mohammed Amar sued for libel and breach of privacy over… Read More »
Desmond Browne QC on Radio 4
On Wednesday 14 January Clive Anderson’s radio series Unreliable Evidence looked at the impact of Mosley v NGN on media freedom and privacy rights. 5RB‘s Joint Head of Chambers Desmond Browne QC discussed the conflict between Article 8… Read More »
Murderer wins photos injunction
The High Court in Northern Ireland has granted a man jailed for 21 years for a “brutual and callous sexual murder” an injunction restraining Independent News & Media, publishers of the Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life newspapers, among other… Read More »
PCC rejects Roy Meadows complaint
The Press Complaints Commission has rejected a complaint from Professor Sir Roy Meadow about an article in The Times, which stated that he “went beyond his remit, and gave evidence that led to the jailing of innocent… Read More »
‘Magic Alex’ libel claims reinstated
The former director of the Beatles’ Apple Electronics, Alex Mardas, has had his libel claims against the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune reinstated. Mr Mardas, dubbed ‘Magic Alex’ by John Lennon, is… Read More »
Media to gain greater access to family courts
The Justice Secretary Jack Straw has announced reforms of the family justice system which will allow greater scrutiny of its workings by the media. From April 2009, Mr Straw said, the media will be permitted greater… Read More »
New consultation on defamation law
During a debate about the United Kingdom’s defamation laws in Parliament, Bridget Prentice, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of the Ministry of Justice announced that the Government was set to launch a consultation to… Read More »
Apology over ‘misery memoir’
A father accused by his daughter in her book “Mummy’s Witness” of having sexually, emotionally and physically abused her from the age of four today set the record straight in a statement in open court in… Read More »
New High Court Judges appointed
1 Brick Court’s Victoria Sharp QC and Andrew Nicol QC of Doughty Street Chambers have been appointed to the High Court bench. After graduating from Bristol University, Victoria Sharp joined 1 Brick Court in 1982 and took silk in 2001. She… Read More »
Australian court rules on sex tape privacy claim
The Victorian Court of Appeal today made an award of substantial compensatory damages to a woman whose former partner had attempted to show video tapes of the couple engaging in sexual activity to her friends… Read More »
Cab rank rule ‘fundamental’ to independent Bar
A move away from the the cab rank principle could lead to a loss of evenhandness and objectivity, according to 5RB’s joint Head of Chambers Desmond Browne QC. In an interview which appears in… Read More »
DNA retention infringes Article 8
In a landmark ruling, the Grand Chamber in Strasbourg has found that the current UK policy of retaining DNA samples from individuals who are subequently acquitted is an infringement of Article 8 ECHR. It is believed… Read More »
Mother loses ‘Ugly’ libel trial
The barrister and part-time judge Constance Briscoe, has successfully defended a libel claim brought by her mother in respect of her misery memoir “Ugly”. In the book Ms Briscoe accused her mother, the claimant Carmen… Read More »
Fallon and BHA settle their differences
The British Horseracing Authority has announced that Keiren Fallon and two other jockeys will not face charges over betting by members of the Bennett family on horses ridden by them in 2003-4. Action to ban… Read More »
Accountant wins ‘IVA Council’ claim
David Mond, a chartered accountant and insolvency practitioner, his firm Hodgsons Chartered Accountants and his company ClearDebt Ltd have received an apology and a substantial sum by way of damages and costs under the terms… Read More »
New edition of Gatley out soon
The 11th edition of Gatley on Libel and Slander will be published by Sweet & Maxwell in December. The new edition is edited by 5RB‘s Patrick Milmo QC and Professor Horton Rogers with contributions from 5RB‘s… Read More »
Parliament to review media law
The Commons culture, media and sport select committee is to carry out a wide ranging inquiry into the effectiveness of privacy and libel laws. The inquiry, which will also examine the impact of Conditional Fee Agreements and contempt of… Read More »