What's the problem?
England's libel laws are broken. They are weighted in favour of the rich and powerful and are used to muzzle those with something to say. Defences are grossly inadequate to protect the public interest. Our libel laws barely recognise the invention of the printing press, let alone the internet, and they allow "libel tourism", where powerful interests from overseas can use London as a forum to sue people from anywhere in the world, with very little pretext.

How does it affect you?
As an MP, I'm relatively protected. With parliamentary privilege, I can say virtually whatever I want in the House of Commons. Sadly, this doesn't extend to people such as Peter Wilmshurst. He's a respected cardiologist who is being sued in London by an American company because he dared to question how well one of its heart implants worked. The cases we hear about are ones where brave individuals have stuck their heads above the parapet, but there are countless more where writers and scientists have decided not to risk their home and life savings in fighting
a libel suit, so, in effect, they self-censor. We'll never hear about their findings. This is the libel "chill" on free speech.

What are you doing about it?
The Libel Reform Coalition, Index on Censorship, English PEN and Sense About Science are fighting to raise awareness of the problem and are also campaigning for change in Westminster.

How can we get involved?
Please visit libelreform.org, sign our petition and lobby your MP. We need to show politicians of all stripes that the time for change has come.