Month: March 2017

16.03.17

Court orders Katie Hopkins to pay £24,000 in damages in Twitter libel case

The food blogger, journalist and left-wing political activist Jack Monroe has been awarded £24,000 in damages by the High Court following two tweets sent by the MailOnline (and former Sun) columnist Katie Hopkins in May 2015. Factual background On 9 May 2015, two days after the General Election, the words “Fuck Tory Scum” were spray painted on…

11.03.17

Iain Wilson discusses the legal pitfalls of tweeting in Yahoo News interview

Brett Wilson LLP partner Iain Wilson discusses the libel risks associated with using Twitter in an interview with Yahoo News.  The interview can be found here.  

8.03.17

Breach of privacy: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse discloses victims' identities in email error

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (‘IICSA’) has referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office (‘ICO’) after accidentally disclosing the identities of 90 victims of sexual abuse who had signed up via its website. The website allowed victims to submit information to IICSA on a confidential basis. Unfortunately, the IICSA sent each victim a ’round robin’ email which…

5.03.17

Vacancy: 2-5 year PQE media law solicitor

The firm is presently looking to recruit a solicitor with experience in defamation, privacy, harassment and data protection law.  Full details can be found at the firm’s careers webpage.

New Prisons and Courts Bill announced

The Prisons and Courts bill, published recently, focuses on reforms to courts and prisons with a view to providing better protection of victims and vulnerable witnesses and rehabilitation of offenders. Prison Reform For the first time prisons will be defined as places for ‘reform and rehabilitation’ rather than the hitherto approach of ‘prison works’. In an…

On the Front Line between the Regulatory and the Criminal

The case of Phil Shiner, a leading Humans Rights lawyer struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) in early February illustrates the grave dangers in obtaining clients through dubious means – and where that can lead. Mr Shiner, a former team leader at Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), did not attend his final SDT hearing…

Barrister accused of sexual harassment at chambers party successfully appeals Bar Disciplinary Tribunal finding

Barrister and former UKIP candidate, Stephen Howd, has successfully appealed a Bar Disciplinary Tribunal ruling primarily on the grounds of a medical condition he was suffering at the time of his conduct.  Mrs Justice Lang sitting in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court ruled that a medical condition (that will remain confidential) was…

£17,000 damages awarded by Scottish court in neighbour CCTV dispute

An Edinburgh couple have been awarded £8,634 each by a Scottish court as a result of round-the-clock extremely intrusive CCTV surveillance that had been carried out by a neighbour over a number of years. Factual background Mr and Mrs Wooley are a married couple who have lived with their adult son in the upper flat…

3.03.17

Libel/Defamation: Jack Monroe v Katie Hopkins – Iain Wilson discusses libel on Twitter in the i newspaper

Brett Wilson LLP partner Iain Wilson has been interviewed by the i newspaper, offering expert opinion on Twitter libel.   The article can be found here.