libel

Singh Case Puts Chiropractors Under Siege

As the British Chiropractic Association's battle with Simon Singh continues to work its way through the legal system, chiropractors are counting the fincancial costs of a major backlash resulting from a libel action that has left the Lord Chief Justice "baffled". What was originally a dispute between the BCA and one science writer over free speech has become a brutally effective campaign to reform an entire industry.

A staggering one in four chiropractors in Britain are now under investigation for allegedly making misleading claims in advertisements, according to figures revealed by the General Chiropractic Council.

Continue reading at The Guardian!

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The Pod Delusion #23

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British Chiropractic Association Give Statement on Singh Libel Hearing

I'll be filing a piece for The Guardian tomorrow (Edit: now appearing Monday) on the latest developments surrounding Simon Singh's judge-baffling libel case. In the meantime, I've been approaching various people for comment, and I've managed to get a statement from the BCA. Here it is in it's full, informative glory, followed by my own in-depth analysis.

"Thanks for your email and request for interview and comment. The BCA is currently not providing any comment but as matters progress this might change and if it does we'll contact you. Sorry we can't help at this time."

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The Pod Delusion #12

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Six Problems with the BCA's Latest Statement on Singh (Updated)

Just after I clicked "submit" on my previous article on the Singh vs. BCA affair, I discovered via @JackOfKent that the British Chiropractic Association have released a more, er, in-depth statement on the latest ruling. You can get it at their website, or cached here for safe-keeping. I'll reproduce the text below (since this is a press release and I am apparently a sort of press now I feel this is fair), then comment.

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Simon Singh wins the right to a full appeal: UPDATED

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]

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Drowning in Alphabet Soup: The Wider Battle for Health Regulation

This is an article about Simon Singh, but more than that about the wider issues at stake. In recent months I've written about the BPS, BACP, GCC, BCA, CNHC, and other unimaginative groups of letters that act as regulators or professional bodies for auxilliary health industries in Britain. Simon Singh's battle against the BCA is one chapter in a broader story that links all these cases together. In this post, I want to take a step back, and explore that wider story.

There are four distinct but related stories that have bubbled along for months now (among many others). The CNHC ('OfQuack') are a hapless alternative medicine "regulator" set up by an alt med charity run by Prince Charles at considerable expense to the taxpayer.

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The Simon Singh Verdict: British Skeptics are Under Siege

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.

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Simon Singh vs. British Chiropractic Association

[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.

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