Month: April 2025

17.04.25

End of round 1 in Frank Warren v Chris Eubank Jr defamation claim

In Warren v Eubank [2025] EWHC 828 (KB), which must be one of the shortest media law judgments ever handed down, Mr Justice Jay reminded libel practitioners why a simple approach to determining meaning is often best. Frank Warren, the boxing promoter, who is no stranger to the libel courts, has sued the professional boxer,…

16.04.25

Court of Appeal clarifies the law relating to strangulation and suffocation

In the recent case of R v Jones [2025] EWCA Crim 195, the Court of Appeal looked at the law on strangulation and suffocation and confirmed the position relating to the offence. The law Section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015 was inserted into the Act by section 70 of the Domestic Abuse Act…

Non-qualifying curfews and credit against sentences of imprisonment

In the recent case of R -v- Rice [2025] EWCA Crim 352 the Court of Appeal took a fresh look at when a “non-qualifying curfew” could attract a reduction in a custodial sentence. Qualifying Curfews are detailed in sections 325 and 326 of the Sentencing Act 2020.  Essentially, a defendant who has been bailed to…

Court grants release of documents to media in alleged Chinese spy case

On 21 March 2025, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (‘SIAC’) granted the release to the media of certain information regarding H6 v Secretary of State for the Home Department.  In this case, the SIAC ruled that the Secretary of State for the Home Department (‘SSHD’) was entitled to exclude Yang Tengbo from the UK on…

15.04.25

Analogue data breach in a digital world

In recent times we have come to think of data breaches as something that happens when an email is sent to the wrong place, a laptop is lost, or a server is hacked. We do not think about piles of paper, blowing down a suburban street. The Ministry of Defence is currently investigating after paperwork…

The unfairness of the section 22 regime

The confiscation regime governed by section 22 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) which allows for the prosecution to seek an upward variation of the available amount made at the time of the original Confiscation Order has over the years been applied liberally and sometimes many years after the original proceedings.  A ‘section…

11.04.25

Aluko v Barton preliminary issues trial: Court finds former footballer’s tweets were defamatory

We have written previously about the libel troubles of former footballer Joey Barton as a result of his antics on X/Twitter.  Those troubles continue in the form of a judgment on a preliminary issues trial resulting from his tweets about fellow former footballer, Eni Aluko, by Mr Justice Lavender in Aluko v Barton [2025] EWHC…

High Court overturns Ofcom’s rulings against GB News

GB News has succeeded in its judicial review claim against broadcast regulator, Ofcom. In GB News Limited v OFCOM [2025] EWHC 460, the High Court quashed two decisions by Ofcom that GB News’ use of Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg (a member of parliament at the relevant times) as a presenter of news content breached the Broadcasting…

10.04.25

Noel Clarke libel trial drawing to a close

Noel Clarke’s libel trial against The Guardian is drawing to a close. Clarke is best known for writing, directing and starring in The Hood Trilogy, and for his role in Doctor Who. On 29 March 2021, the British Academy of Film, Television and the Arts (‘BAFTA’) announced that Mr Clarke would receive its honorary award for…

9.04.25

Can a trade union sue for libel?

In the case of Prospect v Evans [2025] EWHC 499 (KB), the Defendant, a former member of the Claimant trade union which represents professionals and specialist workers across a range of sectors sought to hold to account the Claimant’s officers for alleged wrongdoing. More specifically, in a post on the crowdfunding website, www.gofundme.com,  the Defendant…