• First published in 2004 as Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion (BNOR).

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Price of Free Speech in the UK: £50,000

From the Sunday Times:

Global Witness, an environmental and human rights pressure group, faced legal action in London from Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, son of the president of Congo-Brazzaville. The NGO published a report, based on Hong Kong court papers, which suggested Sassou Nguesso had bought more than $100,000 of designer clothes and other luxury goods using a credit card paid for by public funds.

Sassou Nguesso hired Schillings, a London law firm, in an attempt to suppress the report. His application for an injunction did not succeed, but Global Witness has been left with legal costs of £50,000.

That’s one example I hadn’t seen before, but it’s fairly typical of the disgusting situation of libel law in the UK. Politicians are mumbling about reform, but I’ll believe it when I see it.