Chit-chat is slander

Bulletin board comment on the Internet may be covered by slander under English and Welsh law not libel. That’s a recent ruling by Mr Justice Eady in the High Court. They “are rather like contributions to a casual conversation which people simply note before moving on,” he ruled. Slander, apart from in four instances, demands Read More

Caution becomes the standard

I’ve already said that if you drew a line for the amount of freedom of expression granted in the UK over time, the line would now be dipping. At present there are at least 10 areas of law which pull down this line, making the areas journalists should write and talk about smaller and smaller. Read More