LAWFARE

Sub-titled 'How Russians, the Rich and the Government Try to Prevent Free Speech and How to Stop Them', the author argues that the British tradition of 'free speech' is a myth. For centuries the law of defamation has worked to cover up misbehaviour by the rich and powerful whose legal mercenaries intimidate those who seek to expose it. Now through misguided judicial development of the laws of privacy, breech of confidence and data protection, a new terror has been added to suppress the supporting of truths of public importance. This is lawfare, in which journalists and authors struggle against unfair rules and a cost burden that runs to the millions. Law schools do not teach freedom of speech, and judges in the Supreme Court do not understand it. Drawing upon the author's unparalleled experience in court rooms over the past 50 years, the book identifies and advocates the reforms that will be necessary before Britain can truly boast that it is a land of free speech rather than a place where free speech can become very expensive. Robertson represented the editors of Oz, Gay News, The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal, the publishers of Spycatcher and Salman Rushdie and Julian Assange. In 2022 he was sanctioned by the Kremlin. With his typical insight and wit he shows how media law can be a stumbling block, and this is an essential read at a time when so many governments are weaponizing the law to intimidate those who speak truth to power. Is this a battle ever won? 150pp.