Scallywag And Julian Lewis

EDM number 832 in 1994-95, proposed by DN Campbell-Savours on 15/03/1995.

That this House notes the decision of Julian Lewis, Deputy Director of the Conservative Party Research Department, to bring a libel action against Scallywag, a satirical magazine which stands accused of publishing scurrilous material against Lewis and others; believes that Julian Lewis's decision to threaten to take action against the distributors of this journal has major implications for freedom of speech; believes that, whatever the rights and wrongs, and accuracies or inaccuracies, of Scallywag's scurrilous or justifiable attacks on Julian Lewis, his action invites well-heeled villains, rogues and bullies to similarly scare distributors; questions what will happen when, prior to transmission, some mega-buck bully boy decides to threaten action against a satellite, cable or even television rental company, where their equipment is to be used for the dissemination of information which questions the actions of the bully; believes that many distributors will be under pressure to back off even where the evidence points to transmission being justified; notes that libel too often seems to be more to do with big pockets and brinkmanship than the truth; believes that lawyers in the Lord Chancellor's Department reviewing libel law would do well to consider the Julian Lewis case before deciding upon only limited protection for innocent secondary participants such as distributors; believes that if Julian Lewis is angered by Scallywag's attacks on himself he should sue them and not threaten innocent newsagents; and calls upon the National Federation of Retail Newsagents to ensure it is consulted over any review of the law.

This motion has been signed by a total of 15 MPs.