Another attempt to reform England’s libel laws will be launched tomorrow, when Anthony Lester introduces his Private Member’s Defamation Bill in Parliament.

Lester – also known as Lord Lester of Herne Hill, QC – says, “The Defamation Bill, prepared with help from expert colleagues, sets out stronger and clearer defences and strikes a fairer balance between private reputation and public information.” (Opinion piece in the Times.)

As reasons to reform he cites the recent ‘Simon Singh vs the chiropractors’ case, as well as the general ‘chilling effect’ of the current laws, which are widely regarded as stifling freedom of speech.

The bill proposes requiring those who would claim libel to show “real harm” before they sue and forcing corporate claimants to prove damages. Lester says he hopes his bill will gain government support.

Private members bills are often a way for members of parliament to raise issues, with little hope of actually succeeding in changing anything. However, all three major political parties in the UK have previously expressed a commitment to libel reform and the current coalition government has promised to review libel laws.

“What I’m trying to do is get my bill read, and then a committee set up on it so it can take evidence in a detailed way and hopefully then the government will take it up,” Lester told the BBC.

The bill has also gained support in the press. “Kenneth Clarke, the new Lord Chancellor, must seize Lord Lester’s template of legal sanity and make it a government Bill. Lord Lester’s Bill deserves to become law,” says the Times.

In the Telegraph, Simon Singh writes, “Of course, there will be arguments over Lord Lester’s specific proposals – but there should be no doubt that libel reform needs to be radical and urgent. Moreover, all three parties committed themselves to reform in their manifestos, so we are entitled to expect informed and constructive discussion, rather than any attempt to sideline or undermine the Bill.”

Fun fact: Lester was counsel for the Times when it was sued by the then head of Ireland’s government, Albert Reynolds. This case led to the establishment of the ‘Reynolds Defence’, which journalism students are taught that they may (or may not) be able to hide behind if sued.