Today in the High Court US medical device company NMT Medical was ordered to pay £200,000 into court in their libel action against cardiologist Dr Peter Wilmshurst. Master Foster ruled that if NMT Medical do not pay this money by 18 January 2010 their libel claim will be struck out and the court will decide how much of Dr Wilmshurst’s costs NMT Medical should pay.

Dr Wilmshurst has been fighting since 2007 to defend his comments about a clinical trial of a heart device manufactured by NMT Medical. Losing the case could mean he loses his house.  NMT Medical recently threatened to sue Dr Wilmshurst for libel again for comments he made about his case in a BBC Radio 4 Today Programme piece on the chilling effects of England’s libel laws on scientific and medical discussions