Libel Reform Campaign has today published a new guide about libel laws for bloggers.

The guide, entitled ‘So you’ve had a threatening letter. What can you do?’ is published by Index on Censorship in association with Sense About Science, English PEN, the Media Legal Defence Initiative, the Association of British Science Writers and the World Federation of Science Journalists.

The report seeks to better explain English libel law for people who have been threatened with legal action for blogs, comments or articles they have posted online.

It addresses the essential questions, namely the strength of the claimant’s threat  and how the defendant should respond. Today’s publication comprises just a part of the Libel Reform Campaign’s wider efforts to make English libel law simpler, cheaper, and less favourable to the claimant. If the campaign is successful, it is hoped changes will come into force that will better defend online publishers and writers against defamation actions.