LIBEL REFORM PETITION ...STOP THE LIKES OF CARTER RUCK EXPLOITING

Hi Everyone,

In view of the above and in particular our own feelings about Carter Ruck, I thought you might like to sign
this petition:-

http://www.libelreform.org

Beattie wrote:Hi Everyone,

In view of the above and in particular our own feelings about Carter Ruck, I thought you might like to sign
this petition:-

http://www.libelreform.org

Signed.

[quote="AnnaEsse"]

Beattie wrote:Hi Everyone,

In view of the above and in particular our own feelings about Carter Ruck, I thought you might like to sign
this petition:-

http://www.libelreform.org

Signed.[/quote

Thanks

Signed!

Probably won't help, but we have to keep on trying.

fred wrote:Signed!

Probably won't help, but we have to keep on trying.

Thanks Fred, actually there has been a lot of dissent about the obscene fees Libel Lawyers receive , some as much as 4 timese as much as their clients and the U.K. have adopted the U,S. litigation mad cult.We can but try and this is a nationwide petition, so who knows?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/7294539/Simon-Singh-it-is-too-late-for-me-but-libel-laws-must-change-for-the-public-good.html

This is the link to the petition, one of the posters just reminded me......sorry.

signed

Signed.

I've signed it AND sent an email to my MP!

Signed and an email sent to my MP

I've had a reply from my MP. Tony Baldry. Conservative.

For your information, he has always been a very good MP for this area.

Here is the reply I received.

Very many thanks for getting in touch concerning Libel Laws.

I appreciate your concerns.

Heather Blake, who is a member of the Conservative Party's Commission on Human Rights, which I chair, and who is the London representative of "Reporters without Borders", very kindly last week gave me a copy of the Report by English PEN, Index on Censorship and the impact on English Libel Law - which I have read.

The Report makes a number of very sensible recommendations, and as I understand it, Jack Straw, the Secretary of State for Justice, has already made it clear that he is hoping to bring forward legislation to reform English Libel Law.

Realistically there is not going to be time to do this before the General Election, but I would hope that it would be possible to get Cross Party support to introduce a Bill to reform Libel Law in the earlier part of the next Parliament.

Best wishes.



Tony Baldry

Lizzy11268 wrote:I've had a reply from my MP. Tony Baldry. Conservative.

For your information, he has always been a very good MP for this area.

Here is the reply I received.

Very many thanks for getting in touch concerning Libel Laws.

I appreciate your concerns.

Heather Blake, who is a member of the Conservative Party's Commission on Human Rights, which I chair, and who is the London representative of "Reporters without Borders", very kindly last week gave me a copy of the Report by English PEN, Index on Censorship and the impact on English Libel Law - which I have read.


The Report makes a number of very sensible recommendations, and as I understand Straw, the Secretary of State for Justice, has already made it clear that he is hoping to bring forward legislation to reform English Libel Law.

Realistically there is not going to be time to do this before the General Election, but I would hope that it would be possible to get Cross Party support to introduce a Bill to reform Libel Law in the earlier part of the next Parliament.

Best wishes.



Tony Baldry

Well done Lizzy, this is a big issue because everyone knows the standard of British reporting has never been
so low and part of the problem is we have too many Dailiesvying for readership. My MP has acknowledged my
e-mail and is going to write to me.

signed

Beattie wrote:

Lizzy11268 wrote:I've had a reply from my MP. Tony Baldry. Conservative.

For your information, he has always been a very good MP for this area.

Here is the reply I received.

Very many thanks for getting in touch concerning Libel Laws.

I appreciate your concerns.

Heather Blake, who is a member of the Conservative Party's Commission on Human Rights, which I chair, and who is the London representative of "Reporters without Borders", very kindly last week gave me a copy of the Report by English PEN, Index on Censorship and the impact on English Libel Law - which I have read.


The Report makes a number of very sensible recommendations, and as I understand Straw, the Secretary of State for Justice, has already made it clear that he is hoping to bring forward legislation to reform English Libel Law.

Realistically there is not going to be time to do this before the General Election, but I would hope that it would be possible to get Cross Party support to introduce a Bill to reform Libel Law in the earlier part of the next Parliament.

Best wishes.



Tony Baldry

Well done Lizzy, this is a big issue because everyone knows the standard of British reporting has never been
so low and part of the problem is we have too many Dailiesvying for readership. My MP has acknowledged my
e-mail and is going to write to me.

Let me know what response you recieve. I would be interested to hear if it is fairly standard.

Signed.

Glad you had a reply from your MP Lizzy!

I've signed and sent the email message, because I found it very disturbing to read the article with the petition link. I knew things had got bad, but I didn't realise it had reached the point where scientists are being stopped from commenting on research studies.

Thanks for the link Beattie, signed.

Malena

This Bill will definitely pass and if you e-mail your MP they will take note of public opinion. Trouble is, it will
take a while, certainly not before the Election and it will have to be debated in the Commons and the Lords
before it is passed. However, it is a step in the right direction to bring some respect back to Britain"s
Judicial system.

Good work Beattie and Lizzy

Beattie wrote: Malena

This Bill will definitely pass and if you e-mail your MP they will take note of public opinion. Trouble is, it will
take a while, certainly not before the Election and it will have to be debated in the Commons and the Lords
before it is passed. However, it is a step in the right direction to bring some respect back to Britain"s
Judicial system.

E-mail also sent............

This is a reply from my MP"s Secretary, the more signatures we can get the better,


Thank you for your email regarding the Libel Reform Campaign, specifically EDM 423.



In order to assess the case any further, Parliamentary rules stipulate that we need your full address for our records. If you could please forward this as soon as possible we can move forward in drawing attention to your campaign.



I look forward to keeping you updated with any progress.



Many Thanks,

Joshua Long

I have received a reply from my MP, Peter Soulsby. I have contacted him previously on several different occassions and always found him to be approachable, responsive and helpful.

Quote
Dear X. XXXXXXX,

Thank you for your email.

I am very supportive of this campaign and very much believe that the balance needs to be tipped back in favour of freedom of speech.

Unfortunately, I have recently been appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Europe and, by convention, Parliamentary Private Secretaries do not sign EDMs - even those with which they are in complete agreement.

Please find below an update of the Government's position.

You may also like to read the Communities and Local Government Select Committee's Report on this iisue which can be found at -http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmcumeds.htm

Yours sincerely,

Peter Soulsby.

UK Libel Laws

The Government is concerned about the potential effect that our libel laws are having on freedom of speech. Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary with responsibility for this policy area, is setting up a working group, which will consist of media lawyers and other experts, to examine a range of issues around libel. The aim of this group will be to make recommendations on reform.

One of the issues that the working group will look at, which you have highlighted, is libel tourism. A number of factors will be relevant, including the extent of publication in England compared to elsewhere, whether the claimant is resident and carrying on business in England or otherwise connected, whether there is real or likely damage to reputation in England, and the location of witnesses. Where the English court has jurisdiction it will apply the law of England and Wales. However, if the defamation in question was committed abroad the claimant will also have to show that the statement in question was defamatory in the law of the country where the defamation allegedly took place.

The Government has already taken a number of steps to control costs in publication proceedings, ensuring that, where After the Event insurance is taken out, defendants are notified as early as possible, and given the opportunity to reach a settlement without being liable for the insurance premiums. Defamation proceedings are now part of a mandatory costs budgeting pilot, with Judges scrutinising costs as cases progress to ensure that they are proportionate and within the agreed budget. However, the Government still concerned about the level of success fees and we are examining options for taking action in this area.

Furthermore, as you may be aware, the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into Press Standards, Privacy and Libel and is considering a wide range of issues in this area of the law. Jack Straw gave evidence before the Committee on 19 May and the Government will consider carefully any recommendations that the Committee may wish to make in its forthcoming report.

I hope you find this information helpful.
Unquote.

http:www.libelreform .org

Save you having to scroll back this is the link

I got a letter from my MP in the post this morning:

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for writing to me about EDM 423 and libel law reform.

I understand your concerns on this issue. It is important that those who contribute so much to research and culture in this country do not feel restricted from publishing intellectually challenging and informative articles. Fear of libel action should not curb debate by scientists, academics and journalists. Freedom of expression is the hallmark of a free society, and must be strongly protected.

If libel cases do succeed, the costs are often so crippling to defendants that even large newspapers are in difficulty in resisting some claims. It is evident that Britain has become an attractive place for individuals to bring about speculative libel action since lawyers will often bear the brunt of the costs in exchange for the potential awards available to winning litigants.

I believe that human rights activists, scientists, writers and journalists are all currently unnecessarily restricted in carrying out their activities given the heavy costs involved in libel cases. This is posing a dangerous threat to freedom of creative expression, and for that reason I am happy to sign EDM 423.

You may be aware that the Secretary of State for Justice, the Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP, has recently announced that the Government is currently drawing up plans to alter libel law. Let me assure you that my colleagues on the Shadow Justice Team will continue to press the Government on this issue, to ensure that any changes to the law adequately protect individuals without placing too great a burden on, for example, scientists, academics and journalists.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Yours sincerely,
Nicholas Soames