Reputations Under Fire: Winners and Losers in the Libel Business

As Charles Dickens nearly said, ‘The law is an asterisk’ and in the light of enormously increased public interest in the laws of libel, and the confusions and dramas recently involved, David Hooper’s highly readable book will inform and entertain in equal measure. Can you sue for a bad reference, a bouncing cheque or a parking ticket? Are you liable if other people repeat your libel? What do you have to prove to establish libel? The cast-list includes the allegedly boring Ken Barlow, Robert Maxwell, the cuckolded judge in the Alan Clark Diaries, Gillian Taylforth of EastEnders and James Hewitt. There is libel in respect of a Christmas card, the corporation of McDonalds, the House of Nomura, Richard Branson and Jeffrey Archer. In this book, even HELLO magazine gets sued for libel - allegedly.