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English Libel Law (Parliamentary Proceedings)

No, I have not read the comments of the Lord Chief Justice, and will happily do so, in order that I may be better informed. However, there has always been a perhaps uneasy relationship between the legislature and the judiciary and it seems to me that this is one area in which that has been exposed. It may well be that the case is such as to raise issues on which there should be more opportunities for Parliament to intervene, but I think we have got to be fairly careful to ensure that we allow the law to have its role, where it can examine the cases that come before it, perhaps in more detail than we are able to do, and decide what is, in its view, the best way to proceed. The fact is—this is what came out of the letter that Carter-Ruck sent to all of us, and it stood out to me—that The Guardian has got form here and has on a number of occasions, not just this occasion, got Members of Parliament to stand up in the House and make statements under privilege, which enable The Guardian to repeat them in the paper the following day.