I have for 30 years specialised in media, public/regulatory, advertising and consumer law issues, both in and out of court.
I have advised on a full range of media disputes, including up to the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights. This covers defamation (eg Ashcroft v. Times Newspapers, Chohan v. Oxford University Press, Sovcomflot v. Lloyds Fairplay, Hardcash Productions v. Crown Prosecution Service, Prince Turki v. Hachette Filipacchi, Prince Nayef v. Independent, Cruddas v. Times Newspapers, Flood v. Times Newspapers (including in the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human rights); third party disclosure applications to identify anonymous postings and false profiles on social media (eg against Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, Yahoo, BT); clearance work (eg biographies of Prince Charles and Jann Wenner, reports of inquiries into racism and sexual abuse in football; and advising on compliance with regulatory codes (eg IPSO and Ofcom Broadcasting Code). My regulatory work has focused on advertising (including advising the Advertising Standards Authority and Committee of Advertising Practice on UK and EU advertising law); airports/airlines (advising on slot allocation at UK airports); and alcohol (acting for the Portman Group in relation to the regulation of the marketing of alcoholic drinks) – advising on regulatory codes, procedures and guidance. I have also acted in judicial review challenges to regulatory decisions, for example by Transport for London and by the Charity Commission. My information law work has included acting for Jonathan Ungoed-Thomas, the Sunday Times journalist, in the information tribunal and High Court action to obtain disclosure of details of MPs expense claims; and for Dominic Kennedy, the Times journalist, up to the Supreme Court in relation to access to Charity Commission statutory inquiry information. I advise public authorities on FOIA and environmental information issues. I also advise political parties and referendum campaigners on data privacy issues.
- For the media (i) Acting for The Times and The Sunday Times in defence of numerous actions or threatened actions, including a defamation claim in relation to corruption in political donations (taken to the Court of Appeal, Cruddas v Calvert); a threatened claim for defamation arising out of an article about the miss-selling of mini bonds; an action for deceit against Lance Armstrong in relation to monies paid out in the cyclist’s earlier libel action against the paper and its journalists; a case in the European Court of Human Rights to secure a UK government concession that success fees should not be recoverable from publishers in defamation and privacy cases; (ii) advising broadcasters in Ofcom investigations concerning compliance with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code, and in relation to Ofcom licensing issues; (iii) copy clearance for book publishers – e.g. the biographies of Prince Charles (the Rebel Prince, Harper Collins) and Jann Wenner (Sticky Fingers, Canongate) – and NGOs and campaigning bodies; (iv) advising journalists’ confidential sources.
- Reputation, privacy, confidentiality and personal data (i) Applications for disclosure orders against online platforms (e.g. Meta, Twitter, BT) in respect of harassment, defamation, malicious communications (e.g. Takenaka v Frankl, first anonymous email libel tracing action to reach trial); (ii) heading off publication/broadcast of untrue allegations, and securing apologies, corrections and where appropriate damages from publishers, via regulators or the court (e.g. the Independent and Robert Fisk in respect of an allegation that Prince Nayef had ordered police to shoot protestors in the Arab Spring); (iii) securing an injunction for the Advertising Standards Authority against publication by a complainant of confidential communications and legal advice mistakenly emailed to him; (iv) acting in contested data subject access claims; (iv) Defending data breach damages claims (e.g. for a multinational Australian data processor).
- Freedom of information (i) Acting in contested FOI challenges, including for journalist Jon Ungoed-Thomas against the House of Commons in respect of MPs’ expense claims; for a journalist Dominic Kennedy against the Charity Commission in respect of information used for a statutory inquiry (appealed to the Supreme Court); and for historian Andrew Lownie against the Cabinet Office and Southampton University in relation to refusal to provide access to the Mountbatten archive; (ii) advising public authorities on the application of exemptions under FOIA and EIR; (iii) advising public authorities on the application of exemptions under FOIA and EIR.
- Advertising and consumer law (i) Advising the self/co regulators of UK advertising on codes, procedures and investigations, covering the full spectrum of UK/EU advertising law (e.g. greenwashing, online choice architecture, unhealthy foods); (ii) providing copy advice to retailers on website pricing and advertising campaigns; (iii) advice to charities and NGOs on campaigning ads.
- Public/regulatory law (i) Defending rulings of the Advertising Standards Authority against claims for judicial review, for example by City Fibre (challenging the advertising as “fibre” of broadband services which were not fully fibre optic) and Actegy (seeking to continue to advertise a medical device as effective for relieving symptoms of arthritis, diabetes etc.); (ii) defending Airport Coordination against proceedings by the administrators of Monarch Airlines concerning whether the airline’s take-off and landing slots at Gatwick, Manchester and Luton airports could, on insolvency, be sold, or should fall into the slot pool for re-allocation; (iii) acting in judicial review challenges against Transport for London in respect of a ban on advertising for North Cyprus; the Charity Commission for seeking by press release to curtail trustee grant making powers; the FCDO for cuts in overseas aid budget; and DEFRA for failure to enforce animal welfare legislation in respect of broiler chickens; (iv) advising on the drafting of regulatory codes and procedures in relation to e.g. advertising, alcohol, airport slots; (iv) challenging the imposition of penalties (e.g. securing the reduction to zero of a Charity Commission proposal to disqualify a charity manager from holding any senior position for 12 years).
- Safeguarding investigations Advising on sexual and racial abuse and bullying allegations in respect of charities, football clubs and schools, including in independent inquiries.
- Election law Advising Britain Stronger In Europe in the 2016 EU referendum, and other participants in the 2017 general election.