Excellent science correspondant Ben Goldacre on why there is little chance that those in power will want to change the laws on libel, as well as the effects of the libel laws on free speech.
Goldacre, who writes the Bad Science column in the Guardian, recently spoke at a fringe event at the 2009 Liberal Democrat conference called "Defending free speech – keep libel laws out of science."
Epping Forest Liberal Democrat member Prateek Buch, who organised the event, tabelled an amendment at the conference calling for the following to be debated:
"A review of Britain’s libel laws in order to safeguard the free exchange of information and ideas and, in particular, to promote the unhampered dissemination of evidence-based science that relates to our well-being and that of the planet."
Let us hope the Liberal Democrats do make libel law reform an important priority.
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