Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Draft Defamation Bill Scrutiny and the three Labour blogger comrades!

On Friday evening I made a (very last minute) submission to the House of Commons Joint Committee on the
Draft Defamation Bill. For nearly 4 years Labour bloggers Dave Osler, myself and Alex Hilton had to fight a series of completely daft and ludicrous defamation claims in the Royal Court of Justice.  Thanks to pro bono (free!) help by expert solicitors David Allen Green and Robert Dougans the claims were eventually dismissed.

I was going to post on my submission but yesterday I got an acknowledgement from the  committee which suggested that I would be unable to post on it until they published my evidence.  So (if this is correct) I will have to keep stum for now.  It is an interesting story I think.  I hope it will help help organisations such as "Sense about Science" to fight the good fight against censorship and the current gross abuse of our Libel laws.

(This picture was taken at a curry house near to the Royal Court of Justice after something sensible was decided)

Dave is on the left of picture, then me, then Alex.  I do enjoy getting facebook reports about when Dave goes to lefty Trot parties and social events he is introduced as "this is Dave Osler, a friend of John Gray" :)

6 comments:

Robert said...

About time it was sorted out, we were talking about it when labour home was up and running.

problem with some people they cannot take the truth

John Gray said...

agreed Robert (OMG! not again)

Damien McKee said...

I am not a Conservative but what your pal Alex Hilton tried to make false accusations about Nadine Dorries's daughter were a disgrace and he only tried to do it because he is a stuck up, right on middle class type who didn't like the fact that a woman from a Liverpool council estate dared to stand up to a middle class snob like him and John he's not as nice as you think-he said in the Guardian-that any pro life Labour MP who tried to filibuster a pro choice bill should be sacked yet seemed to think it was ok to filibuster a Pro life bill and it took Sunder Katwala to try and knock some sense into him about this issue(Sunder is pro choice).As I have stated before we need less Alex Hiltons and more Gwyneth Dunwoody/Peter Kilfoyle types alongside a Labour answer to Nadine Dorries and no I don't mean prats like Kerry McCarthy either!

John Gray said...

Hi Damien

I am not going to support everything that Alex has ever posted or said. However, I thought his Recess Monkey blog was mostly very, clever. He has like all of us over stepped the mark from time to time.

I have had to privilege to meet his Mum once or twice. A lovely lady. However, somewhat ironically (since you obvious admire strong willed and no nonsense women) if you were to call her boy " a middle class snob" to her face I do not fancy your chances getting out in one piece.

Damien McKee said...

Why would that be? I am just saying that my impression of him is that he comes across as patronising and condescending!How would you feel if Nadine suddenly defected to Labour?

John Gray said...

Hi Damien

1. Well. I think you are wrong

2. that Labour must have won a general election.