English Libel Law (Parliamentary Proceedings) — [Mr. Roger Gale in the Chair]

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 3:50 pm on 21 October 2009.

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Photo of Bridget Prentice Bridget Prentice Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice 3:50, 21 October 2009

I am going to come to some of the things that need to happen in future.

The sub judice rule is an expression of the ability of the House to restrain Members who, in exercising the absolute privilege of freedom of speech, might offend the House. It also protects the administration of justice, so that, while the courts cannot restrain parliamentary debate, Parliament in turn refrains from airing matters in proceedings that are active and awaiting adjudication in the court.

On the issue of the super-injunction, again, the Lord Chief Justice made reference in his remarks yesterday to occasions when that is useful. The intention is for a super-injunction to be used where there would be a detrimental effect on cases that have national security implications or perhaps on child protection issues-I think that the Lord Chief Justice gave a simple example in relation to fraud. We are very concerned that super-injunctions are being used more commonly, particularly in the area of libel and privacy. The Secretary of State for Justice has already asked senior officials in the Department to discuss the matter with lawyers from the major newspapers. We are also involving the judiciary in a consultation. We are looking specifically at how the use of super-injunctions has had an effect and what we therefore need to do on that.

The hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford raised the issue of criminal libel, and I should say that, as we speak, the Coroners and Justice Bill is going through the other place. We have tabled amendments to the Bill that will abolish criminal libel in terms of defamatory, seditious and obscene libel, along with the offence of sedition, which the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon mentioned on the Floor of the House when the matter was debated there. We are removing those obsolete offences from the statute book.

We have also recently published a consultation paper on the effects of the multiple publication rule. As has been referred to during the debate, we are also about to set out a response to the consultation we have done on controlling costs in defamation proceedings and what further steps are needed. Our commitment to freedom of expression is clear, but as the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk said, it is not an absolute right. Freedom of expression has duties and responsibilities attached to it, including the protection of the rights or reputations of others. In that context, it is important that people have an effective right to redress through the law of libel, where their reputation has been damaged as a result of the publication of defamatory material.

In the short time available to me, let me respond to some of the issues that have been raised. Yes, I will certainly take back to both the Secretary of State for Justice and the Lord Chief Justice the message that it might be appropriate for further guidelines to be sent out to the judiciary and that we need to consider whether or not defamation has to be tightened up in any other way. Mr. Heath asked me to declare whether the Parliamentary Papers Act 1840 still holds. Yes, it does-I make that statement as clearly as I possibly can.

Concerns have been expressed about libel tourism, and we had a debate about that not very long ago in Westminster Hall. Of course, the only way in which an English court can hear such a case is if it can show that it has sufficient grounds for jurisdiction. I will not go into the detail of the Brussels regulation because, frankly, we will all lose the will to live. The Justice Secretary gave evidence to the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport during its inquiry, and we will, of course, take seriously any recommendations that the Committee makes that would apply to the courts or to the Ministry.

I am grateful to hon. Members for raising the issue, particularly to Dr. Harris. I do not believe that the debate stops here. I will ask my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice, the Leader of the House and the Speaker to come together to look at how we can reinforce what we know to be true of the rights and proceedings of Parliament. Although I cannot decide the business of the House, I hope that, at some point in future, we will be able to come back to the House with definitive responses to the different questions that have been raised. Finally, parliamentary privilege is an old and important right, and it is one that we should guard absolutely.