Felicity McMahon

Media law barrister at @5RB. Law (defamation, privacy, media, data protection etc), current affairs, sport and other ramblings. Chair of @MTHallCommittee

[5RB Barristers @5RB]

𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘆 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗷𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁

The High Court sitting at Woolwich has sentenced Stephen Yaxley-Lennon to 18 months imprisonment (less 3 days) for contempt of court. On the first day of a 2-day hearing, Mr Yaxley-Lennon admitted 10 breaches of a final injunction imposed on him by Nicklin J in the libel case of 𝐻𝑖𝑗𝑎𝑧𝑖 𝑣 𝑌𝑎𝑥𝑙𝑒𝑦-𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑛 in 2021. Four of the breaches concerned the publication of his film “silenced”, including by playing it on giant screens in Trafalgar Square and posting it on X where it has received some 44 million views. The remaining breaches concerned online interviews in which Mr Yaxley-Lennon repeated allegations that had been the subject of the libel action. Johnson J stipulated that 4 months of the sentence is “coercive”, i.e. it would be open to Mr Yaxley-Lennon to apply to have that part of the sentence discharged if he were to show a commitment to complying with the injunction in the future, e.g. by removing the film from social media. The Court also awarded the Solicitor General her costs of the proceedings.

5RB’s Aidan Eardley KC was leading counsel for the Solicitor General, instructed by the Government Legal Department.

https://t.co/NitLxz1nGK

[5RB Barristers @5RB]

𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗿 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝘁𝗶 𝗛𝗮𝘄𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗖𝗖𝗥𝗣’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲����𝗰𝗲

Mrs Justice Steyn handed down judgment on 23 August 2024 following a trial of preliminary issues of whether parts of an article published on the OCCRP’s website (“The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project”) are protected by qualified privilege pursuant to s 15 of the Defamation Act 1996 and of the issue of meaning.

The Claimant, Dr Ashti Hawrami, served as the Minister of Natural Resources in the newly formed Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (“the KRG”) from May 2006 until July 2019 and then as the Assistant Prime Minister for Energy Affairs in the KRG until early 2022. He has brought defamation proceedings against the Defendants, Journalism Development Network Inc., which is the publisher of the OCCRP website, and two journalists for a website publication entitled “The Rise and Fall of a US Oilman”, which contained references to Dr Hawrami. The Defence disputed the defamatory meanings complained of by Dr Hawrami, denied that the publication was defamatory of him and relied, in the alternative, upon statutory qualified privilege as a fair and accurate report of the judgment and proceedings in a High Court commercial case 𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒓 𝑽𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝑳𝑳𝑪 𝒗 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔 𝑲𝒆𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒄 & 𝑶𝒓𝒔 and public interest pursuant to s 4 of the Defamation Act 2013. Master Dagnall directed the trial of the preliminary issues, which was heard by Steyn J in June 2024.

The judge held that the article could not be defended as containing a fair and accurate report of the Excalibur case and entered judgment for Dr Hawrami upon the issue. She determined the natural and ordinary meanings of the website publication, as set out at [149] of her judgment, meanings which she decided were defamatory of Dr Hawrami at common law.

There remains for determination in due course the Defendants’ public interest defence under s 4 of the 2013 Act.

5RB’s Adrienne Page KC and Tom Blackburn acted for Dr Hawrami, instructed by Carter-Ruck.

A full case report will be released in due course.

◼ The judgment is included on the link below.

https://t.co/59PktSMCWR

[5RB Barristers @5RB]

5RB is delighted to announce that our two current pupils, Katya Pereira and Hector Penny, will commence practice as full tenants at the beginning of October, at the conclusion of their pupillages.

We all at 5RB would like to send our congratulations to both of them!

To learn more about Katya Pereira and Hector Penny, please click on the link below and select ‘𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘀.’

🌐https://t.co/xrUTQW2zbO

#newtenants #5RBpupillage

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

@CrimeGirI I'm sorry for your loss, and glad to hear this at least gave you a laugh

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

@nickharrison He just the absolute best at it. So pleased for him!

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

Also happy to report FABULOUS pink wash hair on one of the polling station volunteers 👍

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

Also, incredible bunny hop here!

[Le Gruppetto @LeGruppetto]

Le gros réflexe et la maîtrise technique d'Axel ZIngle (Cofidis) pour éviter Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) qui était tombé. #TDF2024
https://t.co/kxvqgyQjEW

[Le Gruppetto @LeGruppetto]

Le gros réflexe et la maîtrise technique d'Axel ZIngle (Cofidis) pour éviter Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) qui était tombé. #TDF2024
https://t.co/kxvqgyQjEW

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

Just watched today's #tourdefrance2024 highlights - YES CAV!!! Beautifully done. Mark Cavendish, you absolute legend!!! 🚵‍♂️ ❤️

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

@PrincessofVP Same! I meant to keep an eye on it, but did not manage that. Fabulous news!

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

Delighted to have two students on the Bar Placement Scheme with us in Chambers @5RB again this year.

[The Bar Council @thebarcouncil]

The 2024 Bar Placement Scheme has begun!⚖️ We have a fantastic group of students shadowing barristers in self-employed and employed practice. They will also have advocacy training from @iccabarcourse. We hope all those involved find it an enjoyable and insightful experience ✨

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

@RupertMyers Interestingly, seemingly not in the penalty area though. (The Foden shout would've been soft, but given the yellows...)

[5RB Barristers @5RB]

The High Court has given judgment on preliminary issues in a libel claim brought by Andrew Bridgen against Matt Hancock concerning a Tweet published on 11/01/2023.

Aidan Eardley KC acts for the Defendant, instructed by @RPCLaw.

For the judgment visit: https://t.co/RqXfTNVoPc

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

@devecs @jimrobottom I would support Pierluigi Collina and Nigel Owens (I realise I have crossed sporting lines) being put of sorting out things just generally.

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

Oh poor Katie Archibald! Sad to see her out.

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Double Olympic champion Katie Archibald is out of the Paris games after breaking two bones and ripping two ligaments in a freak garden accident https://t.co/xoXs8Fq5UX

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Double Olympic champion Katie Archibald is out of the Paris games after breaking two bones and ripping two ligaments in a freak garden accident https://t.co/xoXs8Fq5UX

[5RB Barristers @5RB]

Preliminary issue judgment in The Lost King film case (Taylor v Pathe & Ors) handed down today. 5RB’s William Bennett KC & Victoria Jolliffe for C. Andrew Caldecott KC & Hope Williams for Ds.  

https://t.co/fIECeErygm

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

@eoinmauricedaly recall a priest in Clare once managing about 10mins in total on Christmas Day (perhaps with some sort of turkey-needing-checking-on situation). Memorably preaching: "And it was as it is written."

[Felicity McMahon @BitOfALegalGeek]

Big judgment on malicious falsehood in the Supreme Court today:

[Richard Munden @RichMunden]

Malicious falsehood - Supreme Court holds, by 3-2 majority, that a claimant can establish liability where a statement was likely to cause financial loss, but where no such loss is in fact suffered can only recover nominal damages, and not for any distress: https://t.co/k9y7Ssyq4Y