Second reading debate of the Defamation Bill

The second reading debate of the Defamation Bill 2012 is on Tuesday 12th June 2012 in the House of Commons. You will be able to watch the debate here. The second reading is when MPs debate the Bill for the first time and make suggestions for changes that will then be considered by the Bill Committee. Follow the progress of the Bill through Parliament here.

Briefing note

The Libel Reform Campaign has produced a briefing note (PDF) on the Bill for MPs. We highlight the lack of an effective public interest defence and that there are no measures to restrict corporations from using the libel laws to "manage their brand".

• Daily Mail loses nerve and pays out £125k damages after calling a spade "a spade": http://t.co/0RBq8xckxl #libelreform 1 minute ago

• Please visit the #libelreform hashtag. Very funny. People think this was about psychic powers. HA HA HA HA http://t.co/U4tgfwGlXb 7 minutes ago

• “@bengoldacre: libel lawyers... decided..psychic powers are real...http://t.co/gZFVCVLusU #libelreform” Some of us saw it coming. 8 minutes ago