Victory for press freedom in UK
Publish date: 25 October 2004
Issue Number: 1202
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Media
In a test case on a section of the Human Rights Act of 1998 protecting freedom of expression, a ruling by five British Law Lords has made it much harder for courts to gag the publication of confidential material deemed to be in the public interest.
The Guardian reports the judges agreed to lift an injunction against the Liverpool Echo preventing it publishing information from leaked documents alleged to show corrupt activities by the Cream Group of nightclub promoters. An Appeal Court had upheld an earlier High Court injunction on the paper. The section in the Act says that no gag should be imposed pending a full hearing, unless those seeking it were likely to win a ruling at the eventual trial. Full report in The Guardian
