header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

Book review: Duncan and Neill on Defamation

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
05 March 2010 / Keith Schilling
Issue: 7407 / Categories: Blogs , Media
printer mail-detail

Since the first edition of Duncan and Neill in 1978 the libel landscape has changed dramatically and looks set to continue doing so.

Sir Brian Neill, Richard Rampton QC, Heather Rogers QC, Timothy Atkinson, Aidan Eardley

LexisNexis; 3rd edition (Aug 2009) £195.00

ISBN: 978-0406178312

Since the first edition of Duncan and Neill in 1978 the libel landscape has changed dramatically and looks set to continue doing so. 

Juries are no longer “in the position of sheep loosed on an unfenced common, with no shepherd” as Lord Bingham famously described them.

More detailed directions are now commonplace and jury awards correspondingly smaller than in their zenith in the 1980s; to the considerable relief of the popular press. Indeed juries these days are rarely permitted to make an appearance at all as by a promiscuous interpretation of s 69 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 many cases are now regarded as too “complex” for juries; similarly juries have all but been abolished in cases where the Reynolds defence is the main issue

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
NLJ Career Profile: Anne-Marie Ottaway, HFW

NLJ Career Profile: Anne-Marie Ottaway, HFW

Anne-Marie Ottaway, partner at HFW, discusses her varied career, including 13 years at the Serious Fraud Office, and making the leap to private practice

Carey Olsen—Arindam Madhuryya

Carey Olsen—Arindam Madhuryya

Corporate and investment funds lawyer promoted to partner in Jersey

Jackson Lees—Jennifer Carr

Jackson Lees—Jennifer Carr

Private family team announces appointment of senior associate

NEWS
Read All
Historic Act will transform employment rights landscape
The government’s landmark Employment Rights Act 2025 met its pre-Christmas deadline, ushering in sweeping changes to the law
Four Bars unite to reject Lammy jury restrictions
Barristers and advocates in Scotland, England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have urged the government to drop its proposals for judge-only ‘swift courts’ in cases where the sentence is three years or less
Revised guidance on court orders protecting domestic abuse victims
The practice guidance on non-molestation orders has been updated and replaced, and guidance issued on protective injunctions
Brimelow heads up the Bar for 2026
Criminal silk Kirsty Brimelow KC, of Doughty Street Chambers, has taken over the reins at the Bar Council, succeeding family silk Barbara Mills KC
Minister announces legislation to reverse PACCAR
Lawyers have welcomed the government’s long-awaited announcement of legislation to reverse PACCAR but warned plans for light-touch regulation could cause delays
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll