To applaud Justine MN

[cerseissword]

for her put down to LJ printed in today's DM www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2587124/LIZ-JONES-If-trolls-joy-I-wake-scared-day.html

No-one has to worry about repeat libel claims simply by repeating what Liz Jones herself wrote about having been accused of snorting cocaine. They might be in difficulty if they said it was true, but even then she would have problems in bringing a claim having publicised the allegation herself.

What puzzles me is that her rant this time round seems to be prompted by something someone wrote about her boyfriend. She writes much more offensive things about him herself.

There's a general view that, though she's a real person, she's essentially colluded with the DM in constructing a fictional persona, purely for the purpose of getting people to click and comment on her articles and gain publicity and advertising revenue. Certainly it's difficult to believe that a real person could seriously write the rubbish that appears in her columns time and time again.

Does anyone have a link to the fantastic spoof blog on her famed mercy mission to Somalia?

I think you've hitherto pretty safe vis-a-vis GC and the beards, because he has a sense of humour, a career, and some self-respect and hence doesn't go around suing people for those allegations. It's possible that he might change his strategy when he marries because whilst an allegation that a single man is gay is not libellous (under English law at least) it does become libellous once he marries a woman.

On the repeat libel front, the classic case was the New Statesman who said something like "poor John Major is the subject of some ludicrous untrue gossip around Westminster that he's shagging the help" and got sued to within an inch of bankruptcy.

It's pretty ironic that LJ is getting upset about stuff online when she has recently published some quite unpleasant things about her boyfriend's ex [who is not in the public eye].

I'm confused, if justine can avoid her column by not reading (but we accept others may read and talk to justine about it) how is that different from liz not reading MN but hearing about it from people who do?

I can't believe I've just wasted 5 minutes of my life on her! Justine is totally reasonable. [Goes back to my world where liz is just a bad dream]

And today @Liz is still going on in You Magazineabout the Mumsnet libellous post which "ruined" her life. A tad over dramatic. Will she not let it drop?

Hurrah indeed!

It is libel though. I think LJ was right to be upset.

More importantly, is Honeydragon Justine?????

LJ is sure not letting it go. Although I'm sure she says she wasn't told who it was in the latest article, but previously recounted emailing the said mumsnetter....