Press Freedom in the UK: The costs of libel actions

 

I've written a new article for InPublishing magazine on press freedom, which you can read here.  As press freedom in the UK has no constitutional protection, there is a constant battle to fight off restrictions. There are some victories tempered by defeats but over it all looms the massive costs and financial risks of libel actions.

The article covers an unlikely press freedom hero who brought down a former Government minister over his tax affairs despite legal threats; how the notorious leader of the Wagner Group was able to sue a journalist in the UK; a privacy victory for the BBC; journalists wrongly arrested and detained by the police while covering demonstrations; and how the defamation laws could be reformed.