Nick Cohen on British libel laws in Standpoint

Excellent article by the ever-fantastic Nick Cohen on the British libel laws in Standpoint Magazine.

Writing about the courts presents many difficulties. The largest among them is not the risk of being sued yourself but the widespread notion in Britain that if you tell the truth, you have nothing to worry about. The enormous costs of freedom of speech actions make a nonsense of such naivety. Newspapers which are telling the truth prefer to surrender to the risk of receiving crippling bills. A legal director of a chain of regional newspapers told a recent meeting organised by Index on Censorship that this meant his editors never printed anything that might provoke a libel action, settling any claim regardless of the merits of the case.

Via Harry's Place.

I would also recommend, from the same issue of Standpoint Magazine, an article by Clive James on honour killings.