Defamation & Malicious Falsehood

Allegations that damage a person’s, organisation’s or brand’s reputation can have profound and far-reaching personal, professional, and commercial consequences. Effective legal advice and representation at the earliest possible stage of a dispute is therefore essential.

Advising on cases of defamation and malicious falsehood is a core part of our practice at 5RB. Our barristers are highly experienced in all aspects of defamation law and regularly act for claimants seeking to vindicate and preserve their reputations following the publication of false or damaging statements, whether in traditional or digital media, including online platforms and social media.

5RB barristers also have extensive experience in defending publishers, journalists, broadcasters, online platforms, and other media organisations against defamation claims.

Malicious falsehood is a cause of action concerned with compensating financial loss sustained by the malicious publication of false information. Common scenarios giving rise to a claim in malicious falsehood include the publication of knowingly false information about a company by a business rival, resulting in a downturn in the company’s profits.

5RB members have been involved in seminal cases in both these areas of law, particularly concerning the interpretation of the Defamation Act 2013 (in defamation) and the clarification of the special damage requirement under s.3 Defamation Act 1952 (in malicious falsehood). These include:

• Noel Clarke v Guardian News and Media Ltd [2025] EWHC 2193 (KB): A libel claim concerning allegations of groping, harassment and bullying against actor Noel Clarke following an investigation by the Guardian newspaper.
• Blake & Ors v Fox [2025] EWCA Civ 1321: A libel claim concerning a twitter exchange in which the claimants called the defendant, Laurence Fox, a ‘racist’ to which he responded by calling them ‘paedophiles’.
• Mueen-Uddin v SSHD [2024] UKSC 21: A libel claim concerning a report by the UK Home Office falsely accused the claimant, a leader of the British Muslim community, of being a ‘war criminal’.
• George v Cannell [2024] UKSC 19: A malicious falsehood claim which considered the proper application of s.3 of the Defamation Act 1952 where the claimant suffers no significant financial loss.
• Vardy v Rooney [2022] EWHC 2017 (WB): A high-profile libel claim concerning an allegation that the claimant had leaked the defendant’s private information to the UK press.
• Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd [2019] UKSC 27: An important case that determined the scope of the ‘serious reputational harm’ test under s.1 Defamation Act 2013.

Three members of 5RB contributed to the latest (13th) edition of the leading textbook Gatley on Libel and Slander, which is edited by Godwin Busuttil and Richard Parkes KC and published by Sweet & Maxwell in 2022.