Media Law News
Latest Media Law News & Publications
By its very nature, the majority of Carter-Ruck’s pre-publication and privacy-related work is confidential and must remain so. However, a selection of recent media and defamation work highlights which are in the public domain is set out below.
Katie Hopkins and Mail apologise and Mail pays £150,000 to Mahmood family over “Disneyland” libels
MailOnline and its columnist Katie Hopkins have today published a full apology to the Mahmood family and the Mail has paid £150,000 in libel damages, as well as agreeing to pay their legal costs. Ms Hopkins has also apologised on Twitter to her 650,000 followers.
The complaint related to two articles written by Ms Hopkins and published by MailOnline in December 2015, following the refusal by the US authorities to allow a number of members of the Mahmood family, who are Muslims, to board a flight for the USA. The family were going on holiday and had planned a trip to Disneyland.
The Mahmood family are represented by Adam Tudor and Lawrence Northmore-Ball
Examples of media coverage of the story:
Jang group Chief Executive awarded £185,000 in libel damages following High Court trial
Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, the Group Chief Executive and Editor in Chief of the Jang group of companies, the largest media group in Pakistan, has been awarded £185,000 in libel damages by London’s High Court in respect of 24 libellous programmes broadcast by the Defendants, rival media company ARY Network Limited and its COO, Fayaz Ghafoor.
Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was represented by Alasdair Pepper, Antonia Foster, Helena Shipman and Victoria Anderson
The Judgment can be found here
Sunday Telegraph apologises and pays substantial libel damages over false extremism allegations
Ifhat Smith, a mother who brought to public attention her son’s treatment at school under the government’s "Prevent" (counter-terrorism) policy, has secured substantial damages, an apology and her legal costs from the Sunday Telegraph.
Ifhat Smith was represented by Claire Gill and Isabella Piasecka
Click here to read the apology
Settlement in “Heir Hunters” libel case
Philip Turvey, a joint Director of leading genealogical research company, Anglia Research Services Limited, has settled his libel claim against Finders Genealogists Limited (which operates as Finders International), and its Managing Director Daniel Curran.
A Press Release containing the parties’ joint statement can be found here.
Mr Turvey is represented by Adam Tudor and Dominic Garner.
Dame Lowell Goddard
Carter-Ruck has released the following Press Release on behalf of Dame Lowell Goddard, in response to allegations published in the Times newspaper on 14 October 2016.
Leading Sikh Gurdwara President in £160,000 libel success
Gurmail Singh Malhi, President of London’s largest Sikh Gurdwara, has received £160,000 in damages and costs together with an apology from the publisher and Editors of Des Pardes Weekly over publication of false child abuse allegations.
The Press Release can be read here
Adam Tudor and Helena Shipman acted for Mr Malhi
Carter-Ruck clients secure injunction against Times in Candy Brothers litigation
After an application brought on their behalf by Carter-Ruck, the High Court has granted Mark Holyoake and Hotblack Holdings Limited an interim injunction. The injunction restrains the publication of information derived from various documents and correspondence, including without prejudice communications, between the parties in litigation brought by Mark Holyoake and Hotblack Holdings Limited against Nicholas Candy, Christian Candy and others.
Nigel Tait and Rebecca Toman act for Mark Holyoake and Hotblack Holdings Limited.
Solicitor succeeds in claim for breach of privacy against Lewis Silkin LLP
Solicitor Sarah Webb has successfully settled her High Court claim against Lewis Silkin LLP for misuse of private information, receiving damages and costs. Following a contested hearing, Ms Webb also won the right to read a statement in open court which vindicated her decision to sue.
The Statement in Open court can be read here
The Press Release can be read here
Nigel Tait, Ruth Collard and Rebecca Toman acted for Ms Webb.
Soldier receives substantial compensation from Nottingham Post over photograph libel
Lance Bombardier Kerry-Ann Morris has received a public apology, compensation and costs in relation to an article published by the Nottingham Post on its website in June 2015. The article featured a photograph wrongly identifying Morris as her non-identical twin sister, who was tried over the death of a seven-year old girl.
The Statement in Open Court can be found here
Nigel Tait and Persephone Bridgman Baker acted for Lance Bombardier Kerry-Ann Morris
“PJS” successful in landmark Supreme Court privacy case
In what is considered by many commentators to be the most important privacy law decision of the decade, Carter-Ruck acted for the Claimant, “PJS” in his successful appeal to the Supreme Court.
Nigel Tait and Rebecca Toman acted for PJS.
Read more on our Blog.
Telegraph apologises and pays damages to businessman Mujibul Islam
Mujibul Islam, a businessman based in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, has received substantial damages, an apology and the payment of costs from the publisher of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph newspapers, over a series of articles principally by journalist Andrew Gilligan.
Mr Islam was represented by Ruth Collard and Dominic Garner.
City banker successfully strikes out libel claim
A libel claim brought against Carter-Ruck client Piotr Tymula, an employee at Sberbank CIB in London, by former colleague Svetlana Lokhova has been struck out by Mr Justice Dingemans in the High Court.
Read the judgment here
Piotr Tymula was represented by Nigel Tait and Claire Woolf
Leading genealogical research company obtains pre-action disclosure order in “Heir Hunters” dispute
Anglia Research Services, a leading genealogical research company, and its director Philip Turvey, have obtained a pre-action disclosure order against Finders International and its Managing Director Daniel Curran (a regular participant in the BBC’s “Heir Hunters” programme) over an alleged dirty tricks campaign by Mr Curran and Finders.
Anglia and Mr Turvey are represented by Adam Tudor and Dominic Garner
Click here for blog item
The Judgment can be found here
See links below for media and other coverage of this story:
Impresa defeats libel case at a trial of preliminary issues
The High Court has dismissed a libel claim against Carter-Ruck client, Impresa, a leading Portuguese publisher. The court found that the claim, brought by Angolan-Portuguese national, Alvaro Sobrinho did not meet the threshold of serious harm in s. 1 Defamation Act 2013 and was an abuse of process.
Read the judgment here
Claire Gill and Isabella Piasecka acted for Impresa
Claire Gill writes in The Times about predictions for media law in 2016
If the courts will be kept busy by privacy claims, they’re likely to be busier still dealing with data-protection breaches
