British Chiropractic Association

Simon Singh wins the right to a full appeal: UPDATED

Wed, 10/14/2009 - 12:06

Simon Singh was granted the right to a full appeal at the Courts of Justice this morning by the presiding Judge, Justice Laws, in the on-going libel case started by the British Chiropractors Association.

The judge overturned the original judgment by Justice Eady on Simon's use of the word 'bogus' in a Guardian article to describe claims by chiropractors to treat certain childhood illnesses. He said that there was no question of the good faith of the appellant (Simon) who wrote what he honestly believed with the purpose of serving the public interest. [Edit: 'overturned' is not the strict legal term here, see Jack of Kent for the lawyer's version]

The Simon Singh Verdict: British Skeptics are Under Siege

Thu, 05/07/2009 - 21:24

Today saw the prelimary hearing of the libel case brought by the British Chiropractic Association against science writer Simon Singh. I wrote about the background to this case earlier. The verdict of the judge in this hearing was something of a shock, and the consequences of it could be severe, not just for Singh but for the entire British skeptic community. Apparently now you don't actually have to make a claim to face accusations of libel, nor does the claim even need to logically follow from your arguments. And the nature of this case is such that if the same principles were to be applied consistently, every skeptical British blogger would end up in the courts.

Simon Singh vs. British Chiropractic Association

Thu, 05/07/2009 - 12:47

[bpsdb] As I write this, science writer Simon Singh is at the Royal Courts of Justice in London fighting his corner in the preliminary hearing of the British Chiropractic Association's libel case against him. Legal blogger Jack of Kent has been providing expert analysis of the case, and is at the court providing regular updates via his Twitter feed, @JackOfKent.