Recently in Defamation Category

The Government has used this week's Queen's speech to announce plans to use the next parliamentary session to bring in new libel laws. The new defamation bill aims to abolish jury trials, curb online defamation and reduce so-called 'libel tourism'.

The amendments are being welcomed by many, who say that UK libel law is out of date and too expensive.

Lord Mawhinney is the chairman of the joint Commons and Lords committee on the draft defamation bill.

Five Supreme Court judges yesterday unanimously found in favour of the publishers of The Times newspaper, in a case which appears to restore the defence of 'public interest' in libel cases.

The case was brought by Detective Gary Flood, who works for the Metropolitan police extradition unit. He claimed that he was libelled in a Times article written in 2006 concerning the extradition of Russian oligarchs.

The article claimed that the detective had accepted money to disclose confidential extradition information to a private security firm, ISC Global. Clients of the firm included Russian businessmen who were the subject of extradition requests.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Draft Defamation Bill has called for libel cases to only be heard by a judge rather than a jury, unless the case involves senior public figures.

The committee also proposed in their report that steps should be taken to reduce the cost of bringing a defamation claim, and to clarify the law regarding online defamation.

The report claimed that defamation law should be more accessible and easier to understand.

When TV game show enthusiast Simon Curtis appeared on BBC's Mastermind in 2006, he probably did not expect to become the programme's worst-performing contestant in a specialist-subject round, scoring only one correct answer out of 25.

But he certainly didn't expect to face further ridicule at the hands of David Walliams who replayed the clip of Mr Curtis's poor performance on his Channel 4 show 'Awfully Good TV' and described him as "astoundingly thick".

Introducing the clip on his programme in January, Mr Walliams said: "Sometimes in life, you have to know your limitations. If you're not, let's say, very bright, it's probably not a good idea to go on a quiz show that tests your mental agility. And by not very bright, I mean astoundingly thick."

The BBC's Top Gear programme has landed itself in trouble again over comments and footage featured on the show in December 2008.

Californian-based company Tesla, which manufactures the world's fastest electric car, is suing the BBC for defamation and malicious falsehood.

Tesla is taking action over an episode that tested its Tesla Roadster against a petrol-fuelled car, the Lotus Elise. The drag race between the two was hailed as the "ultimate test for an electric car."

The Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke is to publish a draft Defamation Bill today aimed at protecting freedom of expression and curbing 'libel tourism' in England and Wales.

'Libel tourism' refers to wealthy foreign individuals suing for libel in the English courts under tenuous links, as the law here more 'claimant friendly' than that in other parts of the world. However, it has the effect of restricting freedom of expression in the UK.

The Bill aims to restrict libel tourism by only allowing foreign individuals to sue for libel in England and Wales if they can show the defamatory publication has 'substantially harmed' their reputation in England and Wales.

A senior banker has been granted an injunction by the High Court that allows his identity and the nature of an affair he has been having with a married colleague to be kept out of the media.

The injunction was granted by the court on Tuesday March 1 against the Sun newspaper. The injunction, also known as a 'gagging order', means the tabloid will not be able to reveal the banker's identity or the details of the affair.

Injunctions of this nature are usually sought by famous sportsmen or celebrities trying to save their public reputation. Damaging stories reported in the papers can have a serious effect on their public image and earning capacity, and therefore injunctions are frantically applied for by their lawyers.

David Beckham's libel claim against celebrity magazine In Touch has been thrown out by a US federal judge.

The former England captain was seeking damages of $25 million (£15.5 million) from the magazine after they printed a story that alleged her had an affair with a former prostitute called Irma Nici, 26. Beckham has always denied the allegations, saying he was in England at the time of the alleged affair visiting his sick father.

Beckham's lawyer, Richard Kendall, said a basic investigation by the magazine would have revealed that the story was not true. He wanted the judge, Manuel Real, to allow the case to proceed so that he could obtain depositions in order to help with the LA Galaxy star's case.