All posts
18.01.22
How to identify anonymous anti-vax trolls
In the social media age, anyone can quickly and unintentionally become the subject of online harassment, such as speculation, ridicule, and abuse. A significant minority are willing to post, retweet or share content without care or critical thinking, spreading misinformation and hate. A smaller, but still significant, minority actively target and abuse those who do…
Read more14.12.21
Press Release: Mensa pays Eugene Hopkinson libel damages
British Mensa Limited and its directors have agreed to pay defamation damages and costs to former director Eugene Hopkinson after publishing a series of statements that alleged he was responsible for a data leak and cyberattack and had deliberately attempted to harm Mensa and its membership. The settlement was announced at a hearing before Mr…
Read more22.11.21
Should litigants in person get less leeway in libel cases?
The question of how much leeway a litigant-in-person should get when it comes to compliance with the Civil Procedure Rules (‘CPR’) and court orders is a long-argued and fraught one. The concept of litigants-in-person being treated in the same way as those professionally represented has been eroded over time with concessions here and indulgences there….
Read more23.07.21
Tommy Robinson ordered to pay £100,000 in damages to schoolboy he defamed on Facebook
On 22 July 2021, Mr Justice Nicklin handed down judgment in the Hijazi v Yaxley defamation proceedings (Yaxley-Lennon is popularly known by his pseudonym, Tommy Robinson). The full judgment (Hijazi v Yaxley-Lennon [2021] EWHC 2008 (QB)) can be found here. Early in the litigation Mr Yaxley-Lennon was represented by solicitors and lead Counsel. In the…
Read more8.07.21
Wagatha Christie: Court rules on strike out and summary judgment application
Background The ‘Wagatha Christie litigation’, as it is affectionately known, is the fascinating case of mistrust between friends and a sting operation to find a leak. Colleen Rooney (wife of footballer Wayne) became concerned that ‘stories’ she was publishing to her private Instagram account – to which only her actual friends had access – were…
Read more9.06.21
Number of defamation claims issued falls by over 50%
Annual data published on 3 June 2021 shows that defamation claims issued in 2020 in the Royal Courts of Justice (where the vast majority of defamation claims are issued) have fallen from 323 in 2019 to just 152 in 2020. The statistics show a continuing trend of claims being brought against non-media defendants (e.g. bloggers…
Read more25.05.21
Claimant’s search for vindication backfires with finding he committed a serious sexual assault and could be described as a rapist
In Coker v Nwkanma [2021] EWHC 1011 (QB), the Claimant sued his former friend over an allegation that he had sexually assaulted a woman – anonymised in the proceedings as ‘X’ – at the Defendant’s home. Both parties were litigants-in-person, and, by the time the proceedings came to trial before Saini J, there remained ambiguities…
Read more10.12.20
The Times pays libel damages to barrister Barbara Hewson over death threat allegations
Times Newspapers Limited has agreed to pay libel damages and legal costs to barrister Barbara Hewson after reporting that she was accused of making death threats and persistent nuisance phone calls to a law student in complaints to the Bar Standards Board and Leicestershire police. Neither the Bar Standards Board nor Leicestershire police pursued the…
Read more27.11.20
Tutors awarded £30,000 in libel damages after Facebook slur
In Antony & anr v Sivakumar, Richard Spearman QC, sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court, delivered an ex tempore judgment in which he ordered the defendant to pay both claimants £15,000 in damages. The Defendant had published a pseudonymous Facebook ‘review’ on the Claimants’ business page which made a false allegation of…
Read more29.07.20
Rachel Riley and Tracy Ann Oberman withdraw libel claim against barrister and agree contribution to her legal costs
Rachel Riley and Tracy Ann Oberman have agreed to withdraw their libel claim against immigration barrister Jane Heybroek. A copy of Ms Heybroek’s statement on the matter can be found here. Jane Heybroek was represented by Max Campbell and Iain Wilson of Brett Wilson LLP and Ian Helme of Matrix Chambers. If you have…
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Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.
