Quote:
Originally Posted by SMG
For crying out loud, Chris, This is a Forum, not the Old Bailey. We are just discussing the issue here, no one has the full facts yet, however, on the facts presented, its a pretty damming case. When you seek to stop people expressing their opinions, you are restricting free speech. If everyone did that you`d be talking to yourself.
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Actually you can't libel or slander someone from the witness box of the Old Bailey, or any other court for that matter. Or on the floor of the Commons or Lords debating chambers.
Everywhere else, you have a legal duty to speak or write responsibly. Opinion and comment covers a lot, but it is not a blanket excuse to just say whatever you want. It is entirely possible to libel someone while they are being tried. It is also possible for those same comments to be construed as contempt of court, and you can be in serious trouble if that happens. Apart from the places I listed above, and maybe a very few others, there is nowhere in this country where you have an absolute, unqualified right of free speech.
I'm not saying that any of that has happened here. What has saddened me in this thread is how willing people have been to condemn a man who has not yet had a chance to speak in his own defence. I see no pressing need for people to spill forth their bile right now, before the full facts are revealed, when we all know that the full facts will be revealed very shortly.