Author Archives: Robert Sharp

The Independent View: A chance for Liberal Democrat activists to speak up for free speech

There is a new threat to the Defamation Bill.

No sooner had the proposed law been liberated, after being taken hostage by Leveson negotiations, than Conservative MPs have begun messing with crucial free speech provisions.

Former libel lawyer Sir Edward Garnier MP has tabled an amendment seeking to remove a crucial clause from the Defamation Bill. The clause places some limits on corporations’ use of the libel laws. It does not bar them from suing entirely – just asks that they show financial loss before they do so. It’s an objective and measurable …

Posted in The Independent View | Tagged , , , and | 3 Comments

Libel law needs major reform

The clamour for a change to our pernicious libel laws grows louder every day.  In November, Index on Censorship and English PEN published Free Speech is Not For Sale, a report into the state of libel in England & Wales, and the bizarre phenomenon of libel tourism.  Impressed by this report, Jack Straw announced the creation of a working group to deliver reform.  Lib Dem peer Lord Lester announced on the BBC Radio 4 PM programme he will begin drafting a libel bill, and MPs have begun to sign EDM 423 (tabled by Dr …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged , , and | 7 Comments
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  • Mick Taylor
    That the allegations are wider than plagiarism in quite frankly not the issue I was raising, but the feeding frenzy in the print and online media was focussed o...
  • Chloe
    This tragedy raises serious questions regarding the academic rigor at Cambridge University and Liverpool John Moores University. Scrutiny regarding this should ...
  • BLAC Lib Dems
    Just to clarify, our letter **does not state or imply that Professor Arday was guilty of plagiarism**\. We explicitly refer to **“allegations of academic m...
  • Jana
    @David Raw “ I’m sorry, Jana, but you’re asking me to take the anecdotal evidence ‘of a friend’ over the published regulation standards and practices...
  • Jana
    “ At its heart is an ugly assumption: Black people who attain prominent positions must somehow have got there because standards were lowered, because of prefe...