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Cadwalladr v Banks

[2022] EWHC 1435 (QB) — High Court (Queen's Bench), 2022

Last reviewed: Next review due:

What the court held

Carole Cadwalladr defeated Arron Banks's libel claim over her TED talk and a tweet. Steyn J held that although the words were defamatory, the s.4 public-interest defence applied for the periods before ICO investigations concluded certain issues. The judgment is widely cited in UK anti-SLAPP debate.

Key rulings

  • S.4 public-interest defence applied to a journalist speaking about a public political financier.
  • Serious-harm threshold met even for viral online statements with substantial reach.
  • The court analysed the defence period-by-period as circumstances changed.

Topics

DefamationPublic interest defenceSLAPPs

Acts cited

  • Defamation Act 2013

Authoritative source

Read the full judgment on BAILII (British and Irish Legal Information Institute):

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2022/1435.html

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Case summaries are drafted by UK JournoHub Editorial for practising UK journalists. They are not legal advice. Always consult primary sources and, for high-risk stories, take specialist legal advice.