Britain to reform laws to deter ‘libel tourism’

BRITAIN’S plaintiff- friendly libel laws have become an international embarrassment, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said yesterday, vowing to change rules that have made the country a “libel tourism” destination for angry corporations and foreign celebrities.

In a speech on civil liberties, Clegg said the existing laws, which place the burden of proof on defendants, have a chilling effect on journalism and scientific debate.

It is “simply not right when academics and journalists are effectively bullied into silence” by the prospect of costly legal battles, he said.

Libel laws in many countries, including the US, generally require plaintiffs to prove a published article was both false and written maliciously. In Britain, the burden of proof falls on the defendant to demonstrate what it published was true.

That has led celebrities and corporations to sue in British courts, even when the case has only a tenuous connection to Britain.

In 2006, American actress Kate Hudson successfully sued the National Enquirer for libel in London, relying on the fact that the US publication has a British edition.

In another case, a Saudi businessman successfully sued an American academic over a US-published book about the financing of terrorism that had sold only 23 copies in Britain.

Clegg said the system has become “a farce — and an international embarrassment”.

He said a new draft defamation law would be produced in the next few months. He said it would introduce a new defence of speaking in the public interest, and clarify the existing libel defences to stop claimants suing on “essentially trivial grounds”.

In addition, Clegg said the law would be updated to afford people who write on the internet more protection.