Libel Bashers: The laws that rein in the tabloids

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

Politics, Government, Society & Culture, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 19 July 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Libel laws have been around for centuries in England – yet the public and the papers keep falling foul of them. The witch hunt for the then-unnamed BBC presenter in early July is the latest example. The anonymity of that presenter, now revealed to be Huw Edwards, meant people began publicly accusing other BBC presenters of being involved. At least one Twitter user has now been sued over this. So what are our libel laws? And why do they catch so many people out? Journalist and media consultant David Banks joins Seth Thévoz in The Bunker. “Whether the Sun’s in trouble remains to be seen, but those who dived in after the Sun now find themselves in hot water.” – David Banks “Your right to a reputation is a very ancient concept in England and Wales.” – David Banks “Way back when if you slandered someone you could have your tongue cut out.” – David Banks Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producers: Kasia Tomasiewicz & Chris Jones. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	My name is Stan. I'm at. Nice to meet you. So you took up photography where? I've always loved
0:05.5	photography but I turn it into earning a living at 60. I enrolled on a day course.
0:11.8	Well college. I loved going to college. It's good you can retry. I'm enrolled on the day course. But college?
0:13.0	I loved going to college.
0:14.0	It's good you can retrain and do something.
0:16.0	Yeah, yeah.
0:17.0	Let's talk about working, learning, saving and making the most of living longer.
0:22.0	Phoenix Group is the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement business.
0:28.0	Search Phoenix Group living longer.
0:30.0	Pets brings so much joy.
0:32.0	From those happy greetings at the door to the warm cuddles on the sofa
0:36.7	so give a little love back with dental life from Purina a range of delicious chues made for dogs and tasty snacks for cats that help clean and support your pets, teeth and gums, essential for their overall well-being and a happy, healthy life. They give you plenty of smiles so
0:55.3	look after theirs with dental life. Pick up dental life in the pet food aisle. Hello and welcome to the bunker I'm Seth Table.
1:11.2	One word strikes fear into the hearts of the most intrepid journalist seeking
1:16.1	out the truth, libel. England has long had a reputation for some of the most punitive
1:21.4	libel laws around, so that by the 90s and
1:24.0	noughties, London's High Court was known as the libel capital of the world.
1:28.0	All manner of corrupt oligarchs and dodgy politicians have had recourse to the libel courts, as well as some genuinely aggrieved
1:34.6	parties. And while there have been some major reforms in the last decade, it's not gone away either.
1:40.9	Earlier this year, my colleagues at Open Democracy revealed how the Wagner Group's Yevgeny
1:45.4	pre-Gosian was actually given a special license by H.M. Treasury to help him sue a British
1:51.2	investigative journalist.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Podmasters, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Podmasters and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.