Freedom of speech hope with new Bill

NEW defamation laws could shift the balance towards greater freedom of speech while protecting reputations from serious damage, MSPS have said.

Holyrood unanimously backed the general principles of the Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Bill, which the Scottish Government hopes will simplify and modernise the law.

Introducing the Bill at stage one, community safety minister Ash Denham said she does not believe the existing defamation law “appropriately balances protection of reputation and freedom of expression”.

Ms Denham said: “I am clear that if a person says that their reputation has been unfairly damaged by a defamatory statement then they should have to prove, at least to a minimum standard, how it’s been damaged.”

The minister also explained that under the proposed legislation, public bodies would be prohibited from suing for defamation.

“I believe that it is of the highest public importance that a democratically elected governmental body should be open to uninhibited public criticism,” she said.

Justice Committee convener Adam Tomkins welcomed the proposals, saying they “subtly” shift the balance between freedom of expression and reputational protection by introducing a “serious harm” threshold in defamation cases.

But on the public bodies issue, he argued there is a grey area on private firms that are doing work for the public sector.