Lords rule in favour of Searchlight in BNP libel appeal

The House of Lords has rejected an appeal by two members of the British National Party against a decision that an article about them in the anti-fascist Searchlight magazine is protected from a defamation action by the reportage defence.

Brothers Barry and Christopher Roberts had petitioned the House of Lords for permission to appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision upholding the judgment of Mr Justice Eady that the article was protected by the reportage defence. In their petition to the House of Lords, the Roberts brothers had argued that journalists must always verify allegations of criminal conduct.

The brothers had sued journalist Gerry Gable, Steve Silver, editor of Searchlight magazine, and its publisher, Searchlight Magazine Ltd, over an article which appeared in the magazine in 2003. It reported a dispute within the BNP, including allegations that Christopher Roberts stole money collected at a BNP rally, and allegations that the claimants made threats to others, and that they might be subject to a police investigation.

Mr Justice Eady upheld the reportage privilege in a decision in May 2006.

In July last year Lord Justice Ward, upholding that decision in the Court of Appeal, said a review of the authorities showed that a journalist had a good defence to a claim for libel if what he published, even without trying to verify its truth, amounted to reportage. The best description of "reportage" was that it was "the neutral reporting without adoption or embellishment or subscribing to any belief in its truth of attributed allegations of both sides of a political and possibly some other kind of dispute", he said.

The reportage defence, a form of qualified privilege, was first established in Al-Fagih v HH Saudi Research and Marketing (UK) Ltd.

The House of Lords rejected the Roberts brothers' petition for permission to appeal on January 31. As is usual, the Law Lords gave no reason for the decision. Had the petition been granted and appeal gone ahead, it would have been the first time that the House of Lords had considered the reportage defence.

Press Gazette

Two BNP members suffer landmark libel case defeat

Two British National Party members have suffered a landmark defeat in their fight for libel damages from a magazine.

Former London mayoral candidate Christopher Roberts, of St Mary's Drive, Benfleet, and his brother Barry argued they were defamed by a 2003 article in the monthly Searchlight publication. The piece, written by Gerry Gable, appeared in the News from the Sewers column, and reported allegations the Roberts brothers, who have both stood for Parliament, had threatened "to kneecap, torture and kill" various people after a bust-up within the BNP. He also alleged Christopher Roberts had stolen cash after a party rally.

The brothers vehemently denied there was any truth to the allegations, which were first aired by other BNP members, and argued they were defamatory. They also said the article not only repeated untrue allegations, but "embellished" them as well.

But, at the High Court last year, Justice Eady ruled Searchlight had a defence of "qualified privilege", as the article was doing no more than reporting the activities of a political party already in the public domain. He concluded publication was in the public interest, and threw out the libel claim.

Three appeal court judges agreed with Justice Eady, in an important ruling for press freedom. Lord Justice Ward, sitting with Lord Justice Sedley and Lord Justice Moore-Bick, said: "This was attributed, neutral reporting of a story in the public interest."

Christopher and Barry Roberts, of Bromley, Kent, now face significant legal costs.

Echo News