News archives can lose libel protection as stories change

A newspaper which continued to publish a defamatory article on its website after its subject was cleared in an investigation lost its right to claim a special journalistic defence against libel, the High Court has said.

The ruling makes it clear that while responsible journalism is given some libel protection, that protection can evaporate if the crucial facts of the case change. Web archives of stories must change to reflect this, the ruling said.

The online version of the article carried a warning in red capital letters which read: “Warning this article is subject to legal dispute. It should not be relied on or repeated.” The Court said, though, that this did not exonerate it of responsibility for the defamation contained in the piece. Read more at www.theregister.co.uk