Today The Pensive Quill carries an Open Letter to the Stormont Executive signed by 31 writers urging libel reform in the North of Ireland be enacted in order to protect freedom of speech; without it, actions like those currently being taken against The Pensive Quill by the Irish News will continue to thrive, and the hidden hand of censorship will rule the roost.

It is absurd that a newspaper is using the threat of libel to silence a blog. Yet this is a regular course of action constantly pursued behind the scenes in Irish media, and its use shapes and censors the flow of information the public has access to.

The Irish News action against The Pensive Quill is a strong example that underlines the need for libel reform in the north. The Pensive Quill fully endorses the position taken in the Open Letter below and supports the campaign led by Index on Censorship, English PEN, and Sense About Science.


Don’t bring the libel bullies to Belfast, say writers
Press Release - Index on Censorship, English PEN, and Sense About Science
The Libel Reform Campaign

Thirty-one authors from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have called on the Northern Ireland Executive to introduce libel reform, warning that ‘Northern Ireland may become a new forum for libel bullies.’

The libel laws of England and Wales were reformed earlier this year as a reult of the Libel Reform Campaign, led by English PEN with Index on Censorship and Sense About Science. The Westminster parliament passed the Defamation Act 2013 with cross-party support.

However, the Stormont Executive has so far made no plans to extend the provisions to Northern Ireland. In an open letter to First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness, the group of 31 authors, playwrights and poets say that this omission means ‘the people of Northern Ireland will enjoy fewer free speech protections than their fellow citizens in England and Wales’.

The authors also express concern for the development of literature in Northern Ireland. They write:

As writers, we are particularly concerned about the impact of the unreformed libel laws on the freedom to write: biographers, historians, journalists and even novelists will remain vulnerable to libel actions on trivial and vexatious grounds. The mere threat of a libel action is also enough to discourage publishers from touching controversial subjects.



English PEN Comment: The impact of the libel law on literature

The libel issue is a very real concern for publishers. In a 2011 survey carried out by the Publishers Association, a third of publishers said they shy away from controversial topics because of the libel laws, and all have had to spend time and of money altering their books as a result of legal advice. Authors such as Jake Arnott, Amanda Craig and Francis King have all received libel threats and legal action because of works of fiction. (In the Daily Telegraph, John Preston discusses the ‘Murky World of Literary Libel‘ at greater length.)

The libel law damages literature, directly and indirectly. As PEN Trustee Kamila Shamsie put it in a speech to parliament,

But the chilling effect of the libel laws go beyond self-censorship – publishers must spend huge amounts of money fighting legal cases; the money spent on lawyers means less money available for the actual books. This doesn’t mean less money for the big authors who publishers are desperate to hang on to – it’s the newer voices, the quieter voices, the experimental and already-marginalised voices, who find themselves shut out. In the case of smaller publishing houses there is no money for legal cases; they can be wiped out by a single accusation, or else choose to take the most conservative possible approach to publishing, minimising all risk, to keep the shadow of libel from their door. The risk-minimising attitude of the publishing industry is a danger to freedom of expression.

Following the Defamation Act 2013, the libel law in England & Wales is about to be updated. It is essential that these crucial free speech provisions are extended to Northern Ireland too.



Libel Reform: An open letter to the Northern Ireland Executive

Below is the text of an open letter to Rt. Hon. Peter Robinson MLA, First Minister of Northern Ireland, and Martin McGuiness MLA, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, from thirty-one authors, poets and playwrights from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Rt Hon Peter Robinson MLA
Martin McGuinness MP MLA
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
GD36 Stormont Castle
Stormont Estate
Belfast
BT4 3TT

16 September 2013

Dear Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness

We are writing to urge you to commit to libel reform in Northern Ireland.

Until very recently, libel law in the UK was a global embarrassment: the mere threat of a libel action had the potential to chill the speech of authors, journalists, scientists, civil rights activists and bloggers writing in the UK and around the world. Doctors were sued for speaking out in the public interest, and human rights groups risked legal writs when they exposed abuse. Ordinary people, writing on internet forums, found their comments censored by wealthy bullies and corporations.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee criticised the law as stifling free speech, and lawmakers in the United States enacted protections against what they called 'libel terrorism'.

The attacks on everyday free speech inspired a grassroots campaign for change. More than 60,000 people signed a petition for libel reform, endorsed by scientists, lawyers, doctors, journalists, authors and dozens of civil society groups.

Westminster parliamentarians from all parties responded to this movement for reform. The Defamation Act 2013 put the complex common law into statute, and delivered a better balance between our right to a reputation and our right to free speech. Anyone smeared by anonymous comments or tabloid gossip will still be able to seek redress, but there are clear protections for reporting in the public interest.

Unfortunately, the Stormont Executive has taken no action to extend reform to Northern Ireland. This decision could have severe repercussions for libel reform throughout the United Kingdom: there is even a risk that Northern Ireland may become a new forum for libel bullies, undermining the significant advance for free speech over the past four years.As writers, we are particularly concerned about the impact of the unreformed libel laws on the freedom to write: biographers, historians, journalists and even novelists will remain vulnerable to libel actions on trivial and vexatious grounds. The mere threat of a libel action is also enough to discourage publishers from touching controversial subjects.

Without libel reform, the people of Northern Ireland will enjoy fewer free speech protections than their fellow citizens in England and Wales. We call upon the Executive to redress this imbalance, and breathe life into the right that underpins all other rights: our right to freedom of speech.

Yours sincerely

Sebastian Barry
Paul Bew
Lucy Caldwell
Paul Charles
Gerald Dawe
Anne Devlin
Roddy Doyle
Carolyn Jess-Cooke
Brian Keenan
Graham Linehan
Michael Longley
Edna Longley
Bernard MacLaverty
Roisin McAuley
Brian McAvera
Anne McCartney
Michael McDowell
Tim McGarry
Frank McGuinness
Christina McKenna
Adrian McKinty
Gary Mitchell
Paul Muldoon
Stuart Neville
Glenn Patterson
Henry Patterson
Damon Quinn
Graham Reid
Christina Reid
Anne Tannahill
Colm Tóibín

Don’t Bring the Libel Bullies to Belfast

Today The Pensive Quill carries an Open Letter to the Stormont Executive signed by 31 writers urging libel reform in the North of Ireland be enacted in order to protect freedom of speech; without it, actions like those currently being taken against The Pensive Quill by the Irish News will continue to thrive, and the hidden hand of censorship will rule the roost.

It is absurd that a newspaper is using the threat of libel to silence a blog. Yet this is a regular course of action constantly pursued behind the scenes in Irish media, and its use shapes and censors the flow of information the public has access to.

The Irish News action against The Pensive Quill is a strong example that underlines the need for libel reform in the north. The Pensive Quill fully endorses the position taken in the Open Letter below and supports the campaign led by Index on Censorship, English PEN, and Sense About Science.


Don’t bring the libel bullies to Belfast, say writers
Press Release - Index on Censorship, English PEN, and Sense About Science
The Libel Reform Campaign

Thirty-one authors from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have called on the Northern Ireland Executive to introduce libel reform, warning that ‘Northern Ireland may become a new forum for libel bullies.’

The libel laws of England and Wales were reformed earlier this year as a reult of the Libel Reform Campaign, led by English PEN with Index on Censorship and Sense About Science. The Westminster parliament passed the Defamation Act 2013 with cross-party support.

However, the Stormont Executive has so far made no plans to extend the provisions to Northern Ireland. In an open letter to First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness, the group of 31 authors, playwrights and poets say that this omission means ‘the people of Northern Ireland will enjoy fewer free speech protections than their fellow citizens in England and Wales’.

The authors also express concern for the development of literature in Northern Ireland. They write:

As writers, we are particularly concerned about the impact of the unreformed libel laws on the freedom to write: biographers, historians, journalists and even novelists will remain vulnerable to libel actions on trivial and vexatious grounds. The mere threat of a libel action is also enough to discourage publishers from touching controversial subjects.



English PEN Comment: The impact of the libel law on literature

The libel issue is a very real concern for publishers. In a 2011 survey carried out by the Publishers Association, a third of publishers said they shy away from controversial topics because of the libel laws, and all have had to spend time and of money altering their books as a result of legal advice. Authors such as Jake Arnott, Amanda Craig and Francis King have all received libel threats and legal action because of works of fiction. (In the Daily Telegraph, John Preston discusses the ‘Murky World of Literary Libel‘ at greater length.)

The libel law damages literature, directly and indirectly. As PEN Trustee Kamila Shamsie put it in a speech to parliament,

But the chilling effect of the libel laws go beyond self-censorship – publishers must spend huge amounts of money fighting legal cases; the money spent on lawyers means less money available for the actual books. This doesn’t mean less money for the big authors who publishers are desperate to hang on to – it’s the newer voices, the quieter voices, the experimental and already-marginalised voices, who find themselves shut out. In the case of smaller publishing houses there is no money for legal cases; they can be wiped out by a single accusation, or else choose to take the most conservative possible approach to publishing, minimising all risk, to keep the shadow of libel from their door. The risk-minimising attitude of the publishing industry is a danger to freedom of expression.

Following the Defamation Act 2013, the libel law in England & Wales is about to be updated. It is essential that these crucial free speech provisions are extended to Northern Ireland too.



Libel Reform: An open letter to the Northern Ireland Executive

Below is the text of an open letter to Rt. Hon. Peter Robinson MLA, First Minister of Northern Ireland, and Martin McGuiness MLA, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, from thirty-one authors, poets and playwrights from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Rt Hon Peter Robinson MLA
Martin McGuinness MP MLA
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
GD36 Stormont Castle
Stormont Estate
Belfast
BT4 3TT

16 September 2013

Dear Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness

We are writing to urge you to commit to libel reform in Northern Ireland.

Until very recently, libel law in the UK was a global embarrassment: the mere threat of a libel action had the potential to chill the speech of authors, journalists, scientists, civil rights activists and bloggers writing in the UK and around the world. Doctors were sued for speaking out in the public interest, and human rights groups risked legal writs when they exposed abuse. Ordinary people, writing on internet forums, found their comments censored by wealthy bullies and corporations.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee criticised the law as stifling free speech, and lawmakers in the United States enacted protections against what they called 'libel terrorism'.

The attacks on everyday free speech inspired a grassroots campaign for change. More than 60,000 people signed a petition for libel reform, endorsed by scientists, lawyers, doctors, journalists, authors and dozens of civil society groups.

Westminster parliamentarians from all parties responded to this movement for reform. The Defamation Act 2013 put the complex common law into statute, and delivered a better balance between our right to a reputation and our right to free speech. Anyone smeared by anonymous comments or tabloid gossip will still be able to seek redress, but there are clear protections for reporting in the public interest.

Unfortunately, the Stormont Executive has taken no action to extend reform to Northern Ireland. This decision could have severe repercussions for libel reform throughout the United Kingdom: there is even a risk that Northern Ireland may become a new forum for libel bullies, undermining the significant advance for free speech over the past four years.As writers, we are particularly concerned about the impact of the unreformed libel laws on the freedom to write: biographers, historians, journalists and even novelists will remain vulnerable to libel actions on trivial and vexatious grounds. The mere threat of a libel action is also enough to discourage publishers from touching controversial subjects.

Without libel reform, the people of Northern Ireland will enjoy fewer free speech protections than their fellow citizens in England and Wales. We call upon the Executive to redress this imbalance, and breathe life into the right that underpins all other rights: our right to freedom of speech.

Yours sincerely

Sebastian Barry
Paul Bew
Lucy Caldwell
Paul Charles
Gerald Dawe
Anne Devlin
Roddy Doyle
Carolyn Jess-Cooke
Brian Keenan
Graham Linehan
Michael Longley
Edna Longley
Bernard MacLaverty
Roisin McAuley
Brian McAvera
Anne McCartney
Michael McDowell
Tim McGarry
Frank McGuinness
Christina McKenna
Adrian McKinty
Gary Mitchell
Paul Muldoon
Stuart Neville
Glenn Patterson
Henry Patterson
Damon Quinn
Graham Reid
Christina Reid
Anne Tannahill
Colm Tóibín

7 comments:

  1. Keep them away from Drogheda as well!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is the kind of censorship those cunts love, my bet is that while they may pay lip service to the writers and broadcasters concerns ,they will do nothing as per usual.free speech !nah no money in that!

    ReplyDelete
  3. There should be concern not just by writers but by society any victory for censorship only serves to asphyxiate free speech.

    I can understand protecting journalists but at the same time journalists like anyone should be held accountable for their reports.
    Handing them special treatment in a nice little package of a gag order that holds the potential to silence critics would raise them above free thinking society a paving stone on the path to fascism.
    If anything journalists should be held at a higher standard to report accurately in a fair and balanced manner. I can understand with the rise of the internet the printed papers are under threat of becoming obsolete and quite possibly will one day.
    The irony being that the very place they want to censor may well be home for all newspapers in the near future.
    In this case the guards are definitely guarding themselves and not the people or the ethos of the right of a people to free speech.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lets hope notice is taken and acted upon quickly.

    As Tain Bo states, The Internet is Newspapers future , Reporters who knowingly Lie should be hauled over the coals by their Editor , and possible libel or court proceedings against them if it effects danger to others.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Exactly how is anyone going to silence free speech? This is 2013. It can't happen. Well, out side of locking someone up 24/7 etc and cutting all contact with the outside world (basically forget about your human rights).

    I really fail to see how anyone can stop free speech. Especially with the net. Who ever thinks that way, they're deffo fighting a losing battle in the heads (with total respect people).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Frankie they may have difficulty in stopping free speech ,but a cara they will and can make the consequences for free speech so fucking scary,insert Stephen Murney here! that people will be to frightened to speak out. its not the first time in history either ,ask any German who lived throughout the war.so unless we stand up to those who try and foist these forms of censorship and control upon us then a cara Niemollers warning from that time will come back to haunt to us.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Frankie,

    it is not that censorship per se cannot be frustrated. It is a case of them trying through punitive measures to impose censorship. And people fearful of being the recipeint of punishment will end up censored.

    ReplyDelete