Simon Singh: £20,000 lichter en twee verloren jaren

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

£20,000 lichter en twee verloren jaren voor het schrijven van een stukje
over chiropractors (beoefenaars van chiropraxie volgens Wikipedia). Is
dat genoeg straf?
Oh, nee. De chiropractors zijn de slechterikken.

Groet / Cees

The battle for libel reform has only begun
Simon Singh - The Guardian, Friday 2 April 2010

Yesterday's ruling on my article is welcome. But the law remains a
serious hazard for journalists

In 2008, I published an article in the Guardian questioning whether
chiropractors should be treating various childhood conditions. I was
then sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association, which
helped ignite the debate over libel reform, and whether the courts are
stifling scientific debate.

For the last two years, my legal position seemed pretty grim, largely
owing to the state of our libel laws. Yesterday, however, the court of
appeal ruled in my favour by agreeing that my article is about
recklessness, not dishonesty, and that I could use the more flexible
defence of fair comment. Suddenly it seems I can mount a successful
defence. Does this mean that libel reform is no longer necessary?

Unfortunately, the English libel system is still notoriously hostile to
journalists, and the case for reform remains as strong as ever. Indeed,
my case alone demonstrates many of the problems.

First of all, yesterday's decision was only a ruling on potential
defences and the meaning of my article, so I have not won yet. Indeed,
the case could continue for another two years and run for four years in
total. The libel process is painfully slow, and most defendants are not
in a position to put their lives on hold for several years. Instead,
they back down and apologise for articles that are actually accurate and
important.

Second, merely deciding the potential defences and meaning of my article
has cost both parties a total of £200,000. Such minor legal
technicalities should not be so expensive. Thankfully, it will be the
chiropractors who largely meet the bill for this, but they will dispute
some of my legal costs, and I could easily be left £20,000 out of
pocket. And there is an associated loss of income, because I devoted
most of the last two years to the case.

The total cost of a libel trial can easily run to £1m, so a journalist
threatened with libel has to be prepared to risk losing everything. It
might be a matter of bluff by the claimant, but any journalist who
carries on with this poker game has to be either unhinged or have a
healthy bank balance. Personally, I am doubly blessed because my bank
balance is OK and I am slightly unhinged.

In many other countries, large corporations cannot bully journalists and
sue for libel, but they can sue for so-called malicious falsehood, which
protects parties from reckless and scurrilous journalism. The benefit of
such a system is a fairer balance, with journalists no longer being
terrified to challenge multibillion-dollar companies as long as their
article is written honestly and responsibly.

There are numerous other problems with English libel law – such as the
fact that journalists are guilty until proven innocent, the lack of a
robust statutory public interest defence, and London's reputation as a
libel tourism destination.

Until these problems are addressed, England will remain a haven for
those who wish to crush free speech. The UN human rights committee
criticism of England's libel laws, made in 2008, will continue to shame
us: "The law of libel has served to discourage critical media reporting
on matters of serious public interest, adversely affecting the ability
of scholars and journalists to publish their work."

Our politicians must act. The Lib Dems already have libel reform in
their manifesto. After Jack Straw's encouraging comments last week, it
seems that libel reform will be in Labour's. And after comments by Henry
Bellingham, of the shadow justice team, it would be shameful if libel
reform were not in the Tories'.

Nothing is certain, but you can help by signing the petition at
www.libelreform.org. I have spent over a million minutes defending my
article about chiropractic; I hope you also believe in free speech and
scientific debate – and that you will spare just one minute to sign up
to the petition.

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