As you know we've been banging on about libel and the need to reform the current law since our not so private little spat with Gina Ford. So we're delighted to offer support to the Libel Reform Campaign, a joint campaign organised by the Index on Censorship, English PEN, and Sense about Science. The aim is to put pressure on the government to introduce legislation to reform the England's libel laws.
In the words of Jonathan Heawood, Director of English PEN: 'Our libel laws allow people accused of funding terrorism or dumping toxic waste in Africa to silence their critics, while 'super-injunctions' stop the public from even knowing that such allegations exist.' John Kampfner, CEO of Index on Censorship, says: 'If we don't act we're at risk of becoming a global pariah.' And Justine Roberts (who she?) adds: 'These are print laws for a digital age.'
Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced a review of libel laws at the end of last year, with the aim of introducing secondary legislation before the end of this parliament. If you'd like to pile the pressure on, please add your voice to the petition here.