The law offering a new defence and a remedy for bloggers besieged by defamatory comments from unknown sources will come into force on New Years Day 2014.
The regulations highlighted in a previous blog on this site have now been approved by both Houses of Parliament and will form the first move under the Defamation Act affecting websites.
The law will also set out a procedure on how complaints should be handled and also put an onus on the person complaining to explain what grounds they have for a complaint.
The changes on the law are outlined pretty comprehensively on the Inforrm blog which also includes a comment from a sceptical blogger about how useful they will be.
The new law was welcomed in the Lords. In a debate Lord Lester waxed lyrically about them. He said ” my noble friend Lord McNally [the Lib Dem government minister] is like Moses in the splendid portrait, bringing down the tables of the law to the Israelites, in seeking the approval of the House to the regulations what he is doing is important not only in this country but throughout Europe and in the wider world.”
Other peers admitted they knew nothing. Labour’s Lord Beecham said “when it comes to the world of computers, information technology and social media, I confess to being an utter novice. At risk of being labelled a Marxist by the right-wing press or Conservative Central Office, I recall some words of Marx—Groucho, I hasten to add, and not Karl. In one of his films, which might have been “A Night at the Opera” but I would not swear to that, he is seen poring over a map and declares that a child of five could understand the map. He continues: “Bring me a child of five”. I am tempted to make the same request when confronted by matters of the kind encompassed by these regulations.”
At least one peer was honest!
Phone Hacking Trial: Rebekah Brooks assured PCC “any journalist who breaks the law” was liable to summary dismissal – Martin Hickman
Theses assurances were given to the Press Complaints Commission personally by Rebekah Brooks who tells them that anybody breaking the law at News International faces the sack. She is now accused at the Old Bailey of authorising illegal payments of £40,000. I am saying nothing!
Day 19 (Part 2): Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers “placed great emphasis” on the code of practice for journalists, Rebekah Brooks told the Press Complaints Commission two years before she was arrested for suspected phone hacking and corruption.
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Phone Hacking Trial: Reporter warned NoW management they would “all end up in jail” if payments to sensitive sources were traced – Martin Hickman
A really damning comment from the News of the World’s former Royal Editor about payments by the paper released in a memo to the court.
Day 19: A News of the World reporter warned the paper’s management that he and its editors could go to jail if police traced cash payments to sensitive sources, the hacking trial heard today. Clive Goodman, the paper’s royal editor, made the warning about two of the cash contacts who were “in uniform.”
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Phone Hacking Trial: Edmondson extended Mulcaire’s contract, after initially stopping payments – Martin Hickman
This is extraordinary given the earlier story that Edmondson had said he had wanted to end the arrangement with Glenn Mulcaire and now is happy paying him. See also Peter Jukes for the documents released showing the payments and Edmondson’s dismissal letter.
Day 18 (Part 2): The News of the World’s news editor, Ian Edmondson, extended its £100,000-year-contract with the private detective Glenn Mulcaire after initially ordering the payments to be stopped, the hacking trial heard yesterday.
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Phone Hacking Trial: Ian Edmondson halted payments to Glenn Mulcaire a year before he was arrested, Old Bailey hears – Martin Hickman
This story reveals that Ian Edmondson, the News of the World news editor,accused alongside Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, of conspiring to hack phone messages, moved to cancel a £2,000 a week retainer to phone hacker, Glenn Mulcaire, as part of a cost saving exercise. The decision was taken 18 months before Mulcaire was arrested. An intervention by his defence lawyer makes it clear that he will be highlighting his attempts to sack Mulcaire to defend himself against the charges.
Day 18: News of the World news editor Ian Edmondson halted payments to the paper’s phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire a year before he was arrested, the hacking trial heard today. Mr Edmondson is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of conspiring with Mulcaire and other former colleagues to intercept voicemail messages between 2000 and 2006.
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Phone Hacking Trial: Murdoch executive packed up phone hacking suspect’s belongings on day of his arrest, court hears – Martin Hickman
This extraordinary story of a successful attempt to remove evidence from the News of the World’s office after James Weatherup, a news editor, who has already pleaded guilty of plotting phone hacking was arrested. No wonder the judge asked the witness,Frances Carmen, a former newsdesk secretary, to repeat the claims. Another story of an alleged cover up in the Murdoch empire
Day 17: One of Rupert Murdoch’s senior executives packed up the belongings of a News of the World reporter suspected of phone hacking and sent them away from the newspaper’s offices in a taxi, the Old Bailey heard today. Paul Nicholas, Deputy Managing Editor of the News of the World, acted on the day in April 2011 that former news editor James Weatherup was arrested at his home in Essex, Frances Carmen, the paper’s newsdesk secretary, told the jury.
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Why Tom Watson is dead right to call for child abuse FBI
Tom Watson MP: campaigning to get child sexual abuse cases investigated: Pic courtesy The Guardian
In an article in the Sunday People and also on The Needleblog the MP forcibly questions why the National Crime Agency has failed to arrest any paedophile connected with an international ring or amorphous group.
Mr Watson told the Sunday People: “We’ve got an international policing operation that has netted hundreds of alleged paedophiles and the UK has failed to act on intelligence.
“This is completely unacceptable. It shows why we need a dedicated national team whose sole aim is to investigate allegations of child abuse.
“I think we need a proper team of officers who have investigative capabilities as well as powers of arrest.
“There are police officers who have been calling for it for years.”
Mr Watson’s call comes after the shocking news that ‘Project Spade’ had arrested hundreds of paedophiles -100 in Canada, 76 in the US and 164 in other countries
Almost 400 child sex slaves were freed and 341 alleged paedophiles arrested as part of the swoop.
I am not surprised about this. After observing the painstaking work the Metropolitan Police Paedophile Unit has done to unearth historic child sexual abuse cases dating from the 1970s and 1980s and the long time it is taking achieve results, I am not surprised.
The number of police officers working on this scourge is frankly pitifully low and I am amazed they have got as far as they have. The expertise in this area other forces have outside London is not brilliant either – and they are dependent on outside help.
But child sexual abuse does not always take place within the UK – indeed with the internet there is growing evidence that child sexual trafficking crosses the world. But I doubt David Cameron will want to commit any more public resources to stop it – he prefers to leave it to pressing, as he did today, for Google and Microsoft to take the lead in tackling child sexual abuse.
Phone Hacking Trial: Sun lawyer: “possible” that he gave advice to journalists on phone hacking, Old Bailey hears – Martin Hickman
Lawyers are now under pressure at the Hacking Trial. Sun lawyer Justin Walford is pleading that he can’t remember whether he gave advice on phone hacking – rather like evidence given by the Murdochs to Parliament. But then he admits it is possible he did. As a former journo at the Guardian I know lawyers crawl over all copy before it is published, so his answers are at the very least rather interesting.
Day 16: A senior lawyer today said today that it was “possible” he had given advice to Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group on phone hacking. Justin Walford, editorial legal counsel at News UK, who was being asked for a second time whether he had done so, went on to say: “I cannot remember.”
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Phone Hacking Trial: Sun political editor claimed evidence of non-existent affair between Home Sec and special adviser, court hears – Martin Hickman
An extraordinary story of how surveillance and phone hacking were used to try and stand up a baseless story that former Labour home secretary Charles Clarke was having an affair. This time the ” victim” put an end to the tale by telling Trevor Kavanagh, then the Sun’s political editor, by refusing his offer to ” confess” and instead warning him that it was untrue and he would sue. Another murky look into the worst side of the tabloid world.
Day 14: The Sun’s political editor, Trevor Kavanagh, confronted a Home Secretary claiming to have “evidence” of a non-existent affair, the phone hacking trial was told today.
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Phone Hacking Trial: Transcript and recording of Prince Harry’s voicemail found at royal editor’s home, jury told – Martin Hickman
The scale of hacking by the News of the World into Prince Harry’s voicemail and his Royal aides is revealed after the police seized transcripts and recordings from the then Royal Editor Clive Goodman’s home. Another example of News International story searching at the time.
Day 13 (cont): The News of the World’s royal editor Clive Goodman had a verbatim transcript of a voicemail left by Prince Harry, the hacking trial was told today. The document and a poor-quality recording of the mobile phone message were seized by police from Mr Goodman’s home in south-west London in 2006, the court was told.
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Westminster Confidential 