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Law digests: 9 February 2024

09 February 2024
Issue: 8058 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Defamation

Blake and another v Fox and another [2024] EWHC 146 (KB), [2024] All ER (D) 120 (Jan)

The King’s Bench Division ruled on reciprocal libel claims relating to some brief exchanges on the social media platform then known as Twitter. The defendant actor and leader of the Remain Party had called for a boycott of a supermarket over an employee diversity and inclusion policy. The claimants had responded by calling the defendant a racist, and he had then proceeded to call each of them a paedophile. Each of the parties argued that no ‘serious harm’ could have been attributed to their own tweet(s), and that the test in s 1(1) of the Defamation Act 2013 had not been passed. The burden laid on the party who alleged defamation in each case to establish that the test had been passed and, if it had not, then that was the end of the matter. The court held, among other things, that: (i) the defendant’s labelling of the claimants as paedophiles was, on the evidence,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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