The good news, as you will have seen elsewhere on Hospital Dr, is that the Appeal Court judgement on Simon Singh’s libel case was every bit as favourable as had seemed likely from the distinguished judges’ comments at the end of his appeal. But of course, this isn’t the end of the affair.
It just means that Singh can use the ‘fair comment’ defence when he eventually comes to trial in the controversial libel case brought against him by the British Chiropractic Association. Their lordships gave a right pasting to Mr Justice Eady, who had found against Singh in the initial hearing, which was nice, but as the journalist said, it has so far cost him £200,000 just to “define the meaning of a few words”.
One good outcome of the publicity surrounding the Singh case, and others like it, is that all three main parties claim to be committed to reform of the libel laws. However, we know that saying and doing are not the same thing in politics, so we need to keep the pressure on. If you haven’t already signed the petition for libel law reform, and almost 50,000 of us have, please think about doing it now, and consider asking your colleagues and friends to do the same. The last concerted attempt to boost signatures resulted in a doubling of numbers, and 100,000 names would hopefully ensure that libel law reform at least makes it into the election manifestos.
The BCA have responded to challenges to produce evidence supporting their claims for chiropractic’s efficacy in treating conditions such as infantile colic, and they may yet come to wish that they had done this in the first place, rather than throwing money at m’learned friends. The results have been fairly predictable (you will need to register for this site, but it’s worth the two minutes it takes). Incidentally, and somewhat surprisingly, it turns out that Hitler was a chiropractor.
Anyway, I see that the sun has come out, and after a week of continuous sodding rain in Cornwall, I intend to get out into the garden and make the most of it. The only downside is that this will involve getting the lawnmower out for the first time since I put it away last October, clogged with wet grass and bits of dismembered frog. Yes, I do know that I should take it to bits, drain the petrol tank, lightly grease the nipples and flange retractors and then wrap it in dry sacking before the winter. There are probably even some people around who do that, but you wouldn’t want your daughter marrying one of them, would you?
It won’t start of course. It will be the Christmas tree lights all over again.
Tags: Libel
Well, whaddya know? The chiroquacktors have withdrawn their libel suit against Simon Singh. I do hope they get stung for all the costs, including what he has paid out already.
Good news for Simon, but doesn’t really change anything. Libel laws need to be reformed and soon.
It is vital everyone signs the petition. The lesson from Simon Singh’s case and similar recent cases is that this is something that could affect anyone, out of the blue, if they publish (even just on the internet), or give presentations at meetings.