Month: February 2025

25.02.25

Charity accused of defaming former employee over evidence given to Manchester bombing inquiry

On 10 February 2025, the High Court handed down a preliminary issue trial judgment in El-Saeiti v The Islamic Centre (Manchester) & others [2025] EWHC 266 (KB), which ruled that an Islamic charity’s allegation that one of its former imams had knowingly given false evidence to an inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing was defamatory…

24.02.25

The Mail pays further libel damages to Dale Vince after it repeats false Hamas slur

The Mail has apologised to Dale Vince for repeating false allegations that the green energy industrialist supported or had defended Hamas. In a statement in the High Court today before Mr Justice Fordham, a solicitor representing Associated Newspaper Limited said the publication of the allegation in an article written by Dan Hodges was “an error…

19.02.25

Court orders mediation in “Super Dry” Manchester City dispute

In a recent blog we discussed how the landscape in relation to alternative dispute resolution (ADR0 had changed over the years and how the case of Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil [2023] EWCA Civ 1416 paved the way for changes to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) which now formally recognises that the Court can order parties…

18.02.25

Court throws out libel and privacy claims brought over Nicola Adams’ Amazon Prime documentary

In Adams v Amazon Digital UK Ltd  [2024] EWHC 3338 (KB), the defendant (‘Amazon’) obtained reverse summary  judgment in a claim for libel and misuse of private information (‘MOPI’).  The judgment demonstrates the court’s willingness to resolve cases at an early stage, when appropriate and offers important guidance on the application of the defences of…

Man’s claim to recover bitcoin fortune lost in landfill site fails

In Howells v Newport City Council [2025] EWHC 22 (Ch), the High Court seemingly put an end to a man’s decade-long attempt to recover access to circa £500million worth of Bitcoin mistakenly dumped in a landfill site in Newport, Wales. James Howells claimed that a hard drive, containing his private key to access 8,000 Bitcoin…

The Aga and Danial Saga concludes: Immediate Suspension Orders do not amount to “time served”

In our previous blog post, we detailed the deeply unhelpful position the law had been left in in terms of suspension orders following a finding of impairment of fitness to practise. The Court of Appeal has now considered the case of General Dental Council v Aga [2025] EWCA Civ 68 and confirmed that the period…

12.02.25

New duties herald a new age of online regulation in the UK and set the stage for a clash with US tech giants

2025 is set to be a busy year for providers of user-to-user (e.g. social media) and online search services in the UK. The Online Safety Act 2023 (‘OSA’) – a new set of laws designed to protect children and adults online – received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023.  It is a significant piece of…

Brett Wilson LLP partners listed in the 2025 edition of the Spear’s 500 as leading reputation management lawyers

Brett Wilson LLP partners Iain Wilson and Max Campbell have been listed in the 2025 edition of the prestigious Spear’s 500 directory. Iain Wilson is listed as one of 14 top flight lawyers.  Max Campbell is also recommended again.

11.02.25

A bit of banter, or alarming and distressing harassment?

Harassment has always been an offence of fact and degree.  Behaviour that in one context might be a joke between friends, can, in another context, form part of a course of conduct that amounts to harassment. Never has this been more aptly demonstrated than in a recent criminal case, in which Rhiannon Evans, a 25…

10.02.25

‘Reasonable chastisement’ defence – are changes afoot?

The defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ whereby parents/caregivers may argue that physical punishment of a child was justified is no longer available in Scotland (since 2020) and Wales (since 2022).  Pressure is mounting on the government to abolish the defence in England. In October 2024 the Children’s Commissioner, Rachel de Souza issued a statement calling for…