Latest news

5RB today welcomes two new members of chambers. After successfully completing their pupillages, Victoria Shore and Victoria Jolliffe become the latest recruits to the media set. After attending English Martyrs School in Hartlepool, Victoria Shore studied… Read More »

A joint statement by the BPI and the MCPS-PRS Alliance has today announced a resolution to the dispute over the royalties payable to songwriters and publishers for UK music downloads, on the day the long-running row was… Read More »

The annual Legal 500 review of the legal profession has named 5RB as a leading set in Defamation & Privacy and Media & Entertainment Law and noted its expertise in both Intellectual Property and Sports Law.   The independent survey… Read More »

The European Court of Human Rights has today held that the human rights of Mary and Alan Wainwright were violated when they were subjected to strip-searches at HMP Leeds in 1997.   The Wainwrights were visiting… Read More »

The NSPCC last night failed in a last minute bid to prevent ITV from broadcasting a documentary about smacking, ‘I Smack and I’m Proud’.   The programme depicted several identified children being repeatedly smacked by… Read More »

The Press Complaints Commission has rejected a complaint from Roger Knapman MEP that a Sunday Times journalist employed subterfuge, in breach of Clause 10 (Clandestine Devices and subterfuge) of the PCC Code. It also rejected… Read More »

The Press Complaints Commission has upheld a complaint that the publication of a diary piece in The Independent revealing an actress was pregnant before she had told family and friends and before her 12 week… Read More »

The Press Complaints Commission has criticised the Newcastle Evening Chronicle for failing to respect the confidentiality of a source. The source of an article made a complaint under the rarely used Clause 14 (Confidential Sources) of… Read More »

Former Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan has won his libel claim against the News of the World over allegations that he was an adulterer who had visited swingers’ clubs and taken part in orgies…. Read More »

Top jockey Kieren Fallon remains suspended from racing in Great Britain after Mr Justice Davis rejected his challenge to the ban imposed by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (HRA). After the judgment was delivered, Fallon’s lawyers… Read More »

Well-known hypnotherapist Paul McKenna has won his libel claim against Mirror Group Newspapers over an article written by Victor Lewis-Smith which alleged that he had fraudulently boasted of having a PhD which he knew to be… Read More »

The Department of Constitutional Affairs has issued a Consultation Paper on a possible amendment to to the Data Protection Act 1998 to allow for custodial sentences for the ‘wilful or reckless abuse’ of personal data. The… Read More »

Animal rights group Animal Defenders International (ADI) will today argue in the High Court that the ban on “political advertising” that prevents many campaign groups from promoting their views on radio and television is a violation of the… Read More »

The Appeal Board of the Horseracing Regulatory Authority today decided that Kieren Fallon should remain banned from racing in the UK pending his trial on criminal charges of conspiracy to defraud gamblers.   The Board,… Read More »

Seven-times winner of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong has settled his libel case against the Sunday Times over doping allegations after the cyclist won an important pre-trial ruling at the High Court in London.  … Read More »

The Court of Appeal today overturned an injunction preventing a father from publicly identifying his child as the subject of a custody battle.   In a significant decision, the Court ruled that section 97 of… Read More »

The House of Lords will today hear argument in the appeal by the Wall Street Journal Europe in the case of Jameel & Anor v Wall Street Journal Europe Sprl.   The grounds of appeal for… Read More »

Sir Elton John this evening failed in an attempt to restrain publication of photos of him taken by a freelance photographer in the street outside his West London home.   At a 2-hour hearing in… Read More »

A dentist has lost a claim for libel and harassment brought against her former employer, Newcastle Primary Health Care Trust, and 12 employees of the Trust.   Denise Merelie contended that she was libelled in a… Read More »

World Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong has won the latest round of his battle with The Sunday Times over allegations that he had used performance enhancing drugs in his cycling career. The Court of Appeal today… Read More »