Injunction against Daily Telegraph
BY FERN LANE
The Bloody Sunday families were awarded an injunction against The Daily
Telegraph at the High Court in Belfast on Tuesday, 15 June. The legal
victory prevents the paper, which is backing the right to anonymity for
British paratroopers, from printing libelous stories about the relatives of
the Bloody Sunday dead.
Solicitors acting for the majority of the Bloody Sunday families initiated
legal proceedings against The Daily Telegraph after the paper published
libelous comments about them last week. Patrick Sherridan of Madden and
Finucane has also confirmed to An Phoblacht that libel proceedings against
The Daily Mail, also over allegations made against the families, have been
started.
In a statement on 12 June, Madden and Finucane stated that they had been
instructed to ``vigorously pursue any defamatory comments made by any
newspaper and to issue libel proceedings where necessary: ``The families
have no intention whatsoever of allowing any section of the English press
to attack their reputations in their support of the paratroopers.''
The move follows the increasingly hysterical and hostile coverage by both
The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail of the judicial review hearing at
the Royal Courts of Justice in London in the second attempt by former
members of the Parachute Regiment and other British soldiers who took part
in Bloody Sunday to overturn the Saville Inquiry's ruling against blanket
anonymity. The Daily Telegraph in its editorial last Friday even went so
far as to make the bizarre claim that the release of the names of five
former British soldiers last week was comparable to William McPhearson's
publishing the names of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry witnesses in his
report.
Both newspapers may in any case be open to contempt of court proceedings -
The Daily Mail because of it's `Don't Betray the Paras' campaign and The
Daily Telegraph because of its equally blatant attempts to influence the
outcome of the judicial review and the Saville Inquiry and to exert
pressure on the British government. So far, in the latter aim at least,
they seem to be succeeding, with British Defence Secretary George
Robertson's announcement that the MoD, in addition to paying the legal
costs of the former paratroopers (already £1.14 million), is prepared to
pay for `protection' for the five men whose names have already been
released and others who claim they will need protection should anonymity be
refused.
Tony Blair also tried to have it both ways when he said that it would be
``odd if we were not supporting our own troops in front of an inquiry and
arguing their case'' whilst simultaneously insisting to MPs that his
government is impartial on the Saville Inquiry.
As the judicial review began last Thursday, Michael Mansfield QC,
representing three of the Bloody Sunday families, asked the three judges,
Lord Justice Roch, Justice Maurice Kay and Justice Hooper, to investigate
what he called an ``insidious and sustained'' campaign in support of the
soldiers, telling the judges the clear objective of the respective
campaigns was to ``impede the stream of justice''.