Colette, Tom and Paul dig into the latest Media Law headlines, including Johnny Depp's libel victory over ex-wife Amber Heard in Virginia, former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith's libel trial in Australia drawing to a close, and a debate around anonymity for a limited class of sperm donors.

Newscast! Depp beats Heard

Colette, Tom and Paul discuss Prince Harry's testimony in his privacy claim against The Mirror for phone hacking, and Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith's failed libel claim against Australian news outlets that accused him of war crimes.

Newscast! Harry in the witness box

Colette, Tom and Paul get stuck into the Media Law headlines, with the recent allegations around BBC newsreader Huw Edwards front and centre. The trio discuss the potentially sticky legal situation in which The Sun may now find itself.

Newscast! The "BBC presenter" imbroglio

Colette, Tom and Paul discuss the latest Media Law headlines, including the pressure put on the police by the (now former) Home Secretary over the recent Gaza protest marches, a proposed new law on SLAPPs, and the passing of the Online Safety Act.

Newscast! Policing protests, SLAPPs, and the Online Safety Act

Newscast! Prince Harry wins phone hacking claim against MGN

Colette, Tom and Paul rake over some of the main headlines in Media Law from the first few weeks of 2024. We've got defamation cases at home and abroad, including further fall-out from the PPE contracts scandal, and the latest judgment against Trump in New York. Also, we discuss the use of copyrighted works to train generative AI programmes.

Newscast! 2024 begins, with a lot of defamation...

Colette, Tom and Paul discuss the collapse of Donald Trump's data protection claim in the UK, Laurence Fox losing a libel case as both defendant and counter-claimant, and the Director of Public Prosecutions appealing to the Supreme Court in the 'Tory scum' protest case.

Newscast! Fox loses libel case, DPP appeals 'Tory scum' case to SC

Colette, Tom and Paul rake over the latest from the world of Media Law. This week, the UK government's new definition of "extremism" is up for discussion, and we get stuck into several high-profile political libel cases.

Newscast! UK's new "extremism" definition, and a whole lotta libel...

Colette, Tom and Paul are thrilled to be talking about SLAPPs YET again, and also discuss Scotland's new hate crime law. Also on the agenda are mentions of the Princess of Wales' privacy, and what became of Science Minister Michelle Donelan's legal costs after she libelled two academics.

Newscast! SLAPPs yet again, Scotland's new hate crime law

Colette, Tom and Paul discuss the fallout from Netflix's "true story" show, Baby Reindeer. Also up for discussion is the case against Trudi Warner for contempt of court, in which the Solicitor General is pursuing an appeal. Tom talks to Dr Kay Crosby (Newcastle Law School) about the case, and the principle of jury equity.

Newscast! The Baby Reindeer imbroglio, and understanding contempt of court

On the eve of the UK general election, Colette and Tom discuss Julian Assange's plea deal and return to Australia, and Conservative election candidate Laura Saunders' threat to sue the BBC over its Gamblegate reporting. Also, the latest correct litigation prediction from the MLP team!

Newscast! Assange's freedom, and a Tory candidate threatens the BBC over Gamblegate reporting

Colette, Tom and Paul discuss the lengthy sentences handed out to five Just Stop Oil protestors convicted of conspiracy to cause public nuisance, and what we can tell about the new government's approach to free speech from its early actions.

Newscast! Just Stop Oil protesters sentenced

Colette, Tom and Paul are back from the summer break - and what a busy summer it's been! In this podcast, they look back on a summer where the distinction between legitimate protest, extremism, and incitement to violence has been brought to the foreground by events in the UK and abroad.

Newscast! On political speech, extremism, and incitement

Colette, Tom and Paul rake over the Media Law headlines. A judge rejects a media application to lift reporting restrictions in the case of the two boys who murdered Shawn Seesahai. Meanwhile, we discuss what the fake news scandal at the Jewish Chronicle says about press regulation in the UK, and celebrate another successful prediction as the Baby Reindeer libel suit survives a motion to dismiss in the US.

Newscast! Reporting restrictions, more SLAPP shenanigans, and a Baby Reindeer libel update

Colette, Tom and Paul discuss the latest headlines in the world of Media Law. The UK government has proposed anonymity for firearms officers who are charged with criminal offences. Tommy Robinson has been jailed for another contempt of court. Meanwhile, in Australia, a court has recognised a new tort of invasion of privacy.

Newscast! Government proposes anonymity for firearms officers accused of offences

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the way that criminal courts have used contempt of court offences to restrict defendants in some disruptive protest-related cases from arguing "reasonable excuse" as a defence for their activities. Colette, Tom and Paul are joined by human rights barrister Adam Wagner, of Doughty Street chambers, who lends his expertise to the discussion.

Episode 29: Protests, Juries, and Contempt of Court

Colette and Tom finish the year with a chat about the latest headlines in Media Law. Tom tries to get his head around the beef between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar, which has recently taken a litigious turn. We also chat about the (possibly temporary) cancellation of "Raygun: The Musical" in Australia, the same jurisdiction's recently-announced social media ban for U16s, and the first UK arrest for non-consensual filming in public.

Newscast! Drake v Lamar: The Original Beef

Tom and Paul talk you through the big stories in Media Law from January 2025, including: the settlement of Prince Harry's claim against News Group Newspapers, the rapidly-escalating dispute between actor Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni, and Liz Truss's attempt to stop Keir Starmer from talking.

Newscast! 2025 starts with a bang...

Colette, Tom and Paul whip round the latest headlines, including reductions in the sentences for Just Stop Oil protesters and the government dropping action on SLAPPs. Then Tom sits down with Dr Patrick Goold (City Law School) to learn about the compatibility of training generative AI models (such as ChatGPT) on copyrighted material with intellectual property law, and also to talk about the future of the James Bond trademarks.

Newscast! Are generative AI models really breaching copyright?

Colette and Tom are joined by Judith Skillen (Nottingham) to talk over the latest Media Law headlines, including Philip Green losing his battle over Parliamentary privilege in the ECtHR, updates from some libel litigation, and the record half-million-pound fine meted out to the University of Sussex by the Office for Students.

Newscast! Sussex University's record fine, and a case on Parliamentary privilege

Colette and Paul are joined by Dr Richard Jones (Salford) and Dr Judith Townend (Sussex) for a deep dive into Jones’ recent book, "Reporting the Courts" (https://www.routledge.com/Reporting-the-Courts/Jones/p/book/9781032638386). In the book, Jones explores the vital role of court reporting in UK journalism, defending its value amid financial pressures and digital change, making a call to preserve open justice in the face of a local news crisis.

Episode 30: "Reporting the Courts" - a deep dive

Colette, Tom and Judith rake over the recent Media Law headlines. Rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh of Northern Irish group Kneecap has been charged with expressing support for a proscribed organisation at a gig. Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has won €100,000 in libel damages at the High Court in Dublin. The UK government has announced the imminent proscription of direct action protest group Palestine Action. The trio also discuss the privacy issues arising out of the aftermath of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.

Newscast! Kneecap rapper's terrorism charge, Palestine Action group to be proscribed

Colette, Judith and the returning Paul discuss the ending of the superinjunction prompted by the Ministry of Defence data leak, the Macrons’ defamation claim, the Coldplay Kiss Cam story, and the recent surge in downloads of VPNs in the UK.

Newscast! The MoD's superinjunction, VPNs galore, and the Coldplay kiss cam incident

The gang are back together to go through the summer's headlines. 

Newscast Summer 2025

Colette, Tom and Paul provide commentary on the decisions closing the two separate cases involving rappers Drake and Kneecap's Mo Chara. They also cover the hacking of the third party user verification service used by Discord and the successful appeal against conviction of the Quran burner. 

Newscast: That's a Rap

Colette and Tom discuss the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Blake v Fox. In the judgment, the Court grapples with "serious harm" under section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013 once again, and stakes out a controversial position on the appropriate test for causation.

Blake v Fox - Court of Appeal

Colette, Tom and Paul round up the Media Law news as we head into the Christmas period. On the agenda: Donald Trump threatens the BBC with a $5bn libel suit, the fallout from former England goalkeeper Mary Earps' memoir, and a discussion of academic freedom following accusations of censorship at Sheffield Hallam University.

Newscast! It's beginning to look a lot like libel...

Tom Bennett (City University) is joined by Paul Wragg (Leeds University) and Helen Belcher (Trans Media Watch) to discuss the portrayal of minority groups in the mainstream media, and the difficulties posed for individuals from minority groups in making use of current regulatory mechanisms. There's also a round-up of news from the world of Media Law!

Episode 1: The Portrayal of Minority Groups

In episode 2, Tom and Paul debate the “harm” element in English privacy law, have an argument about the case of Cliff Richard v BBC, and review Mark Tushnet’s new book on Freedom of Expression.

Episode 2: Invasion of Privacy - what's the harm?

Tom and Paul are joined by Prof. Nicole Moreham (Victoria University of Wellington) to discuss recent cases on the privacy rights of criminal suspects at the pre-charge stage, and whether, by protecting these rights, the law of privacy is encroaching into space that should be left to the law of defamation.

Episode 18: Pre-charge Privacy

Tom Bennett (City University), Paul Wragg (School of Law, University of Leeds), Colette Allen and guests discuss topical issues from the world of Media Law.

The Media Law Podcast

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