Judgment Approved by the court for handing down.
Ali & Aslam v Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd
a matter of general public interest. Here, too, there was no basis for the suggested
failure to take into account the evidence of Mr Brinkworth. He had given no evidence
as to the process of editing, which had lent to the programme the focus that it bore.
Analysis on Liability
78.
The judicial dicta in Campbell v MGN Ltd are unanimous in their overall thrust. At
paragraph 28, when considering “how the tension between privacy and freedom of
expression should be resolved”, Lord Nicholls recorded his approach as follows:
“28. …On the one hand, publication of this information in the
unusual circumstances of this case represents, at most, an
intrusion into Miss Campbell's private life to a comparatively
minor degree. On the other hand, non-publication of this
information would have robbed a legitimate and sympathetic
newspaper story of attendant detail which added colour and
conviction. This information was published in order to
demonstrate Miss Campbell's commitment to tackling her drug
problem. The balance ought not to be held at a point which
would preclude, in this case, a degree of journalistic latitude in
respect of information published for this purpose.”
79.
We have already quoted part of the speech of Lord Hoffmann. However, in another
passage he, too, emphasised the need for restraint on the part of judges addressing
editorial discretion:
“58. The reason why Mr Caldecott concedes that the Mirror
was entitled to publish the fact of her drug dependency and the
fact that she was seeking treatment is that she had specifically
given publicity to the very question of whether she took drugs
and had falsely said that she did not. I accept that this creates a
sufficient public interest in the correction of the impression she
had previously given.
59. The question is then whether the Mirror should have
confined itself to these bare facts or whether it was entitled to
reveal more of the circumstantial detail and print the
photographs. If one applies the test of necessity or
proportionality which I have suggested, this is a matter on
which different people may have different views. That appears
clearly enough from the judgments which have been delivered
in this case. But judges are not newspaper editors. It may have
been possible for the Mirror to satisfy the public interest in
publication with a story which contained less detail and omitted
the photographs. But the Mirror said that they wanted to show
themselves sympathetic to Ms Campbell's efforts to overcome
her dependency. For this purpose, some details about her
frequency of attendance at NA meetings were needed. I agree
with the observation of the Court of Appeal, at p 660, para 52,
that it is harsh to criticise the editor for "painting a somewhat
fuller picture in order to show her in a sympathetic light."”
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