Lord Lexden - Libel veto a "story of evasion and irresponsible delay"

Tory peer Lord Lexden has criticised the Northern Ireland Executive for its failure to implement libel law, calling events a "story of evasion and irresponsible delay". Lord Lexden said that the Defamation Act 2013 represented a "liberalising, modernising law, which will confer lasting benefits throughout society."

He told a committee stage debate on the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill it was "wholly unjustifiable that the people of Northern Ireland should be excluded from the benefits and protections" of this law. He said that the province's exclusion from the Defamation Act 2013 put thousands of publishing jobs at risk and warned that a "dual system" of defamation law would create "doubt and confusion" in an area where clarity was essential. The committee stage was completed.

Read in full here.

Stormont debates e-safety forum and calls for schools to teach online safety

Debating Internet Safety Forum and Internet service provider self regulation of adult content @niassembly
— Chris Lyttle MLA (@Chris_Lyttle) February 10, 2014

On February 10 2014 the Northern Ireland Assembly proposed a motion to endorse and support Safer Internet Day 2014 which falls on February 11 and is celebrated worldwide. The motion said:

"Whilst [the internet] poses significant dangers to children and young people, used properly the internet can also positively affect social, economic and educational advancement; acknowledges that all users have a part to play in making the internet a safer and better place for everybody."

The motion made for two interesting recommendations:

1. Calls upon Her Majesty’s Government to encourage a cross-cutting approach to online safety by incorporating it into the school curriculum, by affording parents and carers easy access to sufficient information to take necessary action. 
2. [Encourage] businesses and industry to self-regulate their web-based content and services.

On the Monday evening the Members also discussed the January 22 2014 recommendation from The National Children's Bureau that Northern Ireland create an online e-safety forum and that organisations should improve collaboration to combat the threat. We covered the report and recommendations here.


UPDATE

Members endorsed and have given their support to the motion. Read the debate in full here.

The Libel Reform Campaign - The battle to modernise libel law continues

The Libel Reform Campaign here that the battle to reform libel law continues, now in Northern Ireland. At present people in England and Wales enjoy greater free speech protections than those in Northern Ireland. They said:

"We may have achieved libel reform in England & Wales, but the battle to modernise libel law continues elsewhere in the UK. Can you help us? 

As you may have read, the Northern Ireland Executive has not yet extended the Defamation Act 2013 into Northern Irish law. In fact, former finance minister Sammy Wilson MLA said he had "no plans to review the law on defamation in Northern Ireland" and told his Stormont colleagues that the threat to free speech was "just a lot of nonsense".

SDLP, Alliance, UUP and Sinn Fein support libel reform

In the Belfast Telegraph of September 16 2013 here, the editor of that paper Mike Gilson welcomed the decision of Simon Hamilton to refer the Defamation Act 2013 to the NI Law Commission (we posted here). In that report he said:

"This is an important subject, and the UUP leader Mike Nesbitt and the Sinn Fein MLA Daithi McKay deserve credit for keeping up the pressure on this issue."

The News Letter reported in March 2013 here:

"The SDLP and Alliance Party have since said that they support the reform. And the SDLP said that the decision was not taken by the five-party Executive but by Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness’ department."

Tony Jaffa welcomes developments on Stormont's Defamation Bill

Northern Ireland lawyer Tony Jaffa wrote in the Belfast Telegraph here:

"The news that Finance Minister Simon Hamilton has asked the Northern Ireland Law Commission to examine the Stormont Defamation Bill is good news for Ulster's publishers, broadcasters, bloggers and academics.While the rest of the UK will see the new Defamation Act 2013 coming into force on January 2, 2014,Northern Ireland libel law remains rooted in legislation that was formulated well before the internetand social media became part of our everyday lives. 

For those of us who are keen to see this relatively obscure, but fundamentally important area of law updated as soon as possible, Mr Hamilton's intervention could be the best way of achieving at least a measure of reform. After all, if the NI Law Commission advocates reforms, it is hard to see how those reforms could be different from the rest of the UK. 

As a solicitor who advises publishers and broadcasters in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, I can hear some people already thinking: "Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?""

To read in full click here.

Peter Robinson supports veto of the new Westminster libel law

Asked by the News Letter if he had any interest in the veto of Westminster's libel reform act, the First Minister Peter Robinson said:

"I certainly am interested. I have to say I am bemused at people who want to help their chums in the media out. I’ll stand up for ordinary people who are wronged by the media. The suggestion – the absurd suggestion – by some that this restricts in some way the media from doing their job and is an infringement of rights...there is a defence against any defamation case, a total defence against a defamation case, and that is truth. 

So if the media are telling the truth, what are they worried about? Why would they be concerned about this if they intended to write or to publish or to broadcast the truth? That is the defence that they could take and I think the withdrawal of that kind of legislation [in England and Wales] allows a recklessness that we’ve seen creeping in to broadcasting and media behaviour. 

The News Letter also reported that Mr Robinson, who has himself threatened to sue for libel in the past, said that it was not difficult to sue but the “costs are prohibitive”.

Original News Lertter report here. Previous posts on the veto of the Westminster libel reform by Stormont here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Radio 4 - Language Laws

   

Chris Ledgard recently looked at the laws surrounding language use, from libel to blasphemy. He was joined by Barristers Nicola Cain and Christina Michalos who explained the law surrounding
defamation. We live in a society governed by laws which limit what we can say and how and where, laws concerning privacy, defamation and incitement.

If you say anything that it likely to lower the reputation of a person in the eyes of someone else, that's when you start to get into trouble. UK courts have been very busy in recent years on defamation, for which it took the title, "libel capital of the world." The new Defamation Act 2013 aims to change this. Aiming to offer better protection yo indiviudals, journalists, scientists and academics who wish to publish and air opinions without the fear of being taken to court under action of libel.

Barrister Nicola Cain was asked, "What is defamation?" She responded:

"Defamation is the publication of words or images that tend to damage the reputation of another. It's about reputation and bringing that person into disrepute. Libel is any publication in any more permanent form. So that may be a broadsheet, a newspaper or anything more permanent. 

Whereas slander relates only to transitory speech. So if we were having a conversation and I said something that was defamatory, that would be slanderous rather libellous. It has to be heard by somone else otherwise it is not a publication."

Why Stormont must adopt new libel legislation

Paul Connolly wrote a piece in the Belfast Telegraph on September 20 2013 entitled, 'Freedom of speech is vital in internet age.' He said here:

"By everyone, I mean everyone. This is not just about the Press. It's about writers and scientists; it's also about amateur bloggers or everyone who sends a Tweet or writes on Facebook or who runs a community website, or who writes a Press release. We are all publishers now, so freedom of speech matters even more in the internet age."

At the launch of his Bill for libel reform on September 19 2013, Mike Nesbitt said:

"Reforming Northern Ireland's law of defamation isn't about protecting the rich and powerful. It is about ensuring thousands of jobs are not lost, that the growth potential of our universities is not hampered, and that journalists have maximum opportunity to responsibly hold the devolved government to account."

At the same event Lord Black, executive director of the Telegraph Media Group, said here:

"This is an issue which is of huge significance for the United Kingdom as a whole but most importantly for ordinary people, jobs and free speech in Northern Ireland. Let's be in no doubt, the stakes are very high. It is a liberalising, modernising law which will have real benefit throughout our society. That is why it is totally unjustifiable and completely inexplicable that people and businesses in Northern Ireland are being excluded from the real benefits and protection it will bring."

Simon Hamilton asks Judena Goldring of the Law Commission to Review Libel Law

The newly installed Finance Minister Simon Hamilton has said he wants to bring a fresh pair of eyes to this issue of libel reform. Simon Hamilton has now asked Judena Goldring, the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Law Commission, to look at the situation. He has asked the official body for reviewing legislation, to do the following:

"Assess the act, which is expected to be commenced later this year, and to advise me on whether any corresponding provisions should be introduced here".

Read the Belfast Telegraph report from September 16 2013 here. The editor of that paper, Mike Gilson appears impressed. He said:

"This is an important subject, and the UUP leader Mike Nesbitt and the Sinn Fein MLA Daithi McKay deserve credit for keeping up the pressure on this issue."

31 Writers and Poets Call for Stormont action on libel reform

Thirty-one leading writers, poets and playwrights – including novelists Colm Toibin, Roddy Doyle, Sebastian Barry,  Graham Linehan, Brian Keenan, academic and political analyst Lord Bew, poet Michael Longley and Lucy Caldwell have signed a letter to the First and Deputy First Minister Mr Robinson and Minister Martin McGuinness urging action to ensure that Northern Ireland does not become a forum for libel bullies.

They said that without reform to the libel system that "the people of Northern Ireland will enjoy fewer free speech protections than fellow citizens in England and Wales".

Their letter concluded:

"We call upon the Executive to redress this imbalance, and breathe life into the right that underpins all other rights: our right to freedom of speech."

The newly instllaed Finance Minister Simon Hamilton has commissioned an official report on the new Westminster legislation which will examine whether or not the new law should be extended here A public consultation on Mike Nesbitt's Bill was launched on Thursday 19 September.


Read more in full here.

Head of Stormont Communications - "FOI is flawed"

"FOI system is flawed for journalists, it's flawed for people here, it's flawed for owners of the information," says @Brownturf #co3media.
— Sharon Whittaker (@WHITTonTWITT) September 6, 2013

Sinn Fein's Phil Flanagan to be investigated over Royal baby tweet

The relevant tweet was raised and pursued by Jim Allister MLA. Read more here.

DUP use the old libel law to control the media and speech

Mike Nesbitt, Newton Emerson and Sam McBride explain why DUP vetoed libel reform

Mike Nesbitt was featured in the News Letter under a headline that roughly went: the rich and powerful are using the libel law to gag the media.

Newton Emerson said something to similar effect in the Sunday Times of July 7 2013, as you can see in the image below:

"The DUP has offered no satisfactory explanation for blocking Westminster’s Libel Reform Act… but the blizzard of writs the DUP sent Spotlight, both before and after the broadcast, highlights the unusually large role that libel plays in NI’s political discourse."

DUP Censorship

Following the Spotlight investigation into Nelson McCausland's dodgy dealings, Sam McBride made an illuminating observation on DUP libel reform policy:

The volume of solicitors' letters from DUP to BBC over one Spotlight episode gives a pretty clear hint as to why DUP blocked libel reform
— Sam McBride (@SJAMcBride) July 3, 2013

Arcane libel laws have contributed to patient deaths said doctor

Read the News Letter report in full here.

Index on Censorship speaks out against NI libel isolationism

Mike Harris, head of advocacy with Index on Censorship wrote a article, 'Stormont must give us a libel law fit for modern age,' in the Belfast Telegraph and on the Index website, available here and here. Mike wrote:

"To protect free speech, US President Barack Obama signed into law the US Speech Act to protect US citizens from the effect of English, Welsh and Northern Irish libel law, an act described as a “national embarrassment” by MPs. 

Now Northern Ireland is alone with its embarrassing libel law. The law of England and Wales has been substantially reformed after the Libel Reform Campaign won support from 60,000 members of the public and over 100 charities and campaigning groups and in response the Government passed the Defamation Act. 

Lord Bew says libel law policy is bad for NI universities and journalists

The News Letter hosted an edited version of a speech given by Lord Bew to the House of Lords on the Stormont decision not to import the recent libel reforms. Read in full here.

"The truth is that British provincial, what we might call old-style redbrick universities, are finding it more and more difficult in a competitive world to retain their remarkably strong position in league tables. 

We do not seem at this point to have a problem with keeping Oxford and Cambridge — or Imperial — right up at the top, but there is considerable evidence that universities such as Manchester, Glasgow and Sheffield are struggling in an intensely competitive world to maintain their relatively high positions in those league tables. Queen’s University Belfast is certainly not exempt from that difficult struggle. 

Lord Black says DUP Iibel laws put jobs and investment at risk

The Belfast Telegraph reported on the Tory peer, Lord Black of Brentwood who was speaking in the House of Lords following Stormont's decision to uphold the old libel regime:

"Lord Black of Brentwood has warned that media jobs are at risk because Northern Ireland will be in danger of becoming the "libel capital" of the world."

Lord Black of Brentwood in his own words said:

"When politicians set their face against the future, investment and jobs suffer. Over 4,000 people work in publishing in Northern Ireland and another 2,000 work in broadcast. Some of those jobs may well be at risk if some of those companies decide that it is now too dangerous to operate in a jurisdiction that stifles freedom of expression.

Lord Black also warned that foreign investors could be deterred from operating in Northern Ireland:

"I can see no circumstances in which Google, Yahoo, AOL, Twitter and others would establish businesses in an area that ties them to an out-of-date, repressive libel jurisdiction.This decision is, in effect, rejecting the high-end jobs that the province desperately needs."

Mick Fealty on Slugger O'Toole went a little deeper, he said:

"Most opposition that’s not coming from Jim Allister, is coming from the media. The retreat from political opposition on the hill (Phil Flanagan of SF seems to be the only other MLA playing that role at the moment), means that there is no coherent political critique of this and other issues available other than that which journalism makes on its own behalf. 

Besides one of the notable characteristics of the current set up is just how sensitive the folks on the hill are about anyone speaking out of turn. Hardly surprising since it so rarely happens in the chamber, that early (and often unreasonable/unsustainable) resort to the law has become commonplace."

Sam McBrides expresses fears over libel veto

Daily Telegraph chief warns that national newspapers may no longer be sent to NI after Sammy Wilson's libel bill veto http://t.co/9fJZTQnbc9
— Sam McBride (@SJAMcBride) June 29, 2013

Read more here.

Daily Telegraph and other national publications hint at leaving Northern Ireland

Daily Telegraph hints at leaving NI over DUP libel reform block. http://t.co/2O2j0DM126
— Newton Emerson (@NewtonEmerson) June 28, 2013

Newton Emerson in the tweet above drew my attention to the report that the Daily Telegraph has hinted that it may leave Northern Ireland because of the old libel law regime. Newton Emerson also made an interesting and very Emersonian remark on Twitter: on this occasion, on the DUP's readiness to pursue publishers and social media users for libel damages: