Peers have debated Northern Ireland’s rejection of the Defamation Act 2013. Padraig Reidy reports
Will free speech be chilled at Stormont? (Pic: Johnny McGinley/Demotix)
Yesterday’s Belfast Telegraph yesterday ran a strong leader on the fact that the Defamation Act, recently passed into law after a long campaign by Index and our partners and supporters in the Libel Reform Campaign, will not extend to Northern Ireland.
The paper comments:
The absence of any proper explanation as to why Northern Ireland has turned its back on the reforms is baffling. We would urge politicians to throw their weight behind a Private Members’ Bill put forward by [Ulster Unionist Party] leader Mike Nesbitt to have the Westminster reforms introduced here. The reforms do not stop people who have a genuine grievance and want to clear their reputation, but they raise the threshold for taking actions. They also create a stronger public interest defence in defamation cases. Surely, it is in the public interest to reform our outdated libel legislation.
Couldn’t agree more.
Meanwhile, Belfast lawyer Paul Tweed has already been hinting that the Titanic town could become the new “town called sue”, tweeting “Looks like libel litigants will now have to cross the Irish Sea to Belfast or Dublin in order to get access to justice.” A 1 May interview with Tweed in the Belfast Telegraph summed Tweed’s position up, beginning with: “Mention libel tourism and the first Northern Ireland lawyer most people think of is Paul Tweed.”
The same article notes that Tweed is currently campaigning for no-win-no-fee libel claims to be allowed in Belfast, noting “”The fact is that unless you have money you cannot bring a defamation action in Belfast. As things stand, I prefer to act in Dublin, not Belfast.”
Tweed’s firm Johnson’s would appeal to have stolen a march on London libel lawyers by already operating in Dublin, Belfast and London. Will other firms follow suit? Will we see Carter-Ruck taking the ferry to Larne? Schillings and Shilelaghs? The ruling parties in Northern Ireland should back Nesbitt’s attempt to bring libel reform to Northern Ireland before Belfast becomes the capital of censorship.
Padraig Reidy is senior writer for Index on Censorship. @mePadraigReidy
Bullets were sent to a journalist and politician in Northern Ireland this weekend, as tensions continue to rise over a controversial decision last month to only fly the Union flag over Belfast City Hall on specific days rather than year round.
Local police intercepted a letter with a bullet intended for a Belfast-based journalist who had reported on loyalist protests. A bullet and sympathy card addressed to Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) assembly member Patsy McGlone were also intercepted by Royal Mail over the weekend. Last month a pipe bomb was planted outside of the home of a Northern Ireland press photographer.
A pipe bomb was defused early this morning after it was planted outside of the home of Northern Ireland press photographer Mark Pearce. While no one has taken responsibility for the attack, Pearce believes he was targeted for his work, but does not remember a recent photograph that could have angered of one of the country’s banned paramilitary groups.
Northern Ireland has recently seen a rise in tensions after Belfast officials last week decided to fly the Union flag on certain days, rather than displaying it year round, sparking protests from loyalists.