British Chiropractic Association v Simon Singh

A letter from simon singh

Being registered with the "Sense about Science " campaign, I and doubtless others here, have received the following email from Simon Singh.
It speaks for itself. I intend to put a link to this post (if I can figure out how) in "Community" to catch as many readers as possible.

I apologise in advance if I'm breaking any rule in doing so (I don't actually believe so), but I think the action is justified in this case.
SS.
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Simon Singh said:
Dear Friends,


I’ve had an idea – an unusual idea, but I think it might just work.

As you know, England’s chilling libel laws need to be reformed. One way to help achieve this is for 100,000 people to sign the petition for libel reform before the political parties write their manifestos for the election. We have 17,000 signatures, but we really need 100,000, and we need your help to get there.

My idea
My idea is simple: if everyone who has already signed up persuades just one more person each week to sign the petition then we will reach our goal within a month!


One person per week is all we need, but please spread the word as much as you can. In fact, if you persuade 10 people to sign up then email me (simon@simonsingh.net) and I promise to thank you by printing your name in my next book … which I will start writing as soon as I have put my own libel case behind me. I cannot say when this will be, but it is a very real promise. My only caveat is that I will limit this to the first thousand people who recruit ten supporters.

When persuading your friends remember to tell them:

(a) English libel laws have been condemned by the UN Human Rights Committee.
(b) These laws gag scientists, bloggers and journalists who want to discuss matters of genuine public interest (and public health!).
(c) Our laws give rise to libel tourism, whereby the rich and the powerful (Saudi billionaires, Russian oligarchs and overseas corporations) come to London to sue writers because English libel laws are so hostile to responsible journalism. (In fact, it is exactly because English libel laws have this global impact that we welcome signatories to the petition from around the world.)
(d) Vested interests can use their resources to bully and intimidate those who seek to question them. The cost of a libel trial in England is 100 times more expensive than the European average and typically runs to over £1 million.
(e) Three separate ongoing libel cases involve myself and two medical researchers raising concerns about three medical treatments. We face losing £1 million each. In future, why would anyone else raise similar concerns? If these health matters are not reported, then the public is put at risk.

My experience has been sobering. I’ve had to spend £100,000 to defend my writing and have put my life on hold for almost two years. However, the prospect of reforming our libel laws keeps me cheerful.
Thanks so much for your support. We’ve only got one shot at this – so I hope you can persuade 1 (or maybe 10) friends, family and colleagues to sign.
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I feel he is fighting a losing battle when even posters on this forum who support libel reform are disinclined to sign a formal petition in favour of writing their own individual letter.

Apparently sceptics are harder to herd than cats.
 
Ben - I share your concern in that respect. I know when Hal made his election bid I felt it was wrong for a non US citizen to contribute to his election fund, though I would have liked to; - but while this is an issue of UK law, it definitely has international repercussions. I posted this here primarily because there are a lot of Brits on JREF who may be interested but have not actually got involved, but if concerned people outwith UK show interest, that might actually carry some weight on the petition.

BillyJoe said:
I feel he is fighting a losing battle when even posters on this forum who support libel reform are disinclined to sign a formal petition in favour of writing their own individual letter.

Apparently sceptics are harder to herd than cats.
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Indeed. So go for it, BJ !
 
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I've just signed and forwarded the URL to a mailing list of Notts County fans. We're victims of the ridiculous libel laws too :(
 
I have signed it too.

To anyone who has not signed it because they are not in the UK - One of the fields that is requested is your country. So you can tell them where you live, be honest and still sign it.
 
Well, I've already signed it, so I can't well sign it again, but since international signatures are solicited as well I can now widen who I pester to sign. I have also written my MP (unlikely name of Dr. Stephen Ladyman) and gotten a standard reply. It appears Ladyman cares about the issue already because he has promised to speak about it in parliament.
 
There's a Sense About Science group on facebook (I'm not sure if it's an official one), and I posted a copy of the letter there, so that's a few hundred more viewers. :)


(ETA: It's not official, as the group description clearly says:
The unofficial group for those who support Sense about Science, a scientific charity who strive to cut out all the rubbish and politics from scientific debates.
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However, there are over 500 members, including some of my facebook friends who joined shortly after I did (I like to think they were following my lead.).)
 
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Filippo Lippi said:
I've just signed and forwarded the URL to a mailing list of Notts County fans. We're victims of the ridiculous libel laws too :(
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Our own little fight against person (or persons) unknown. http://nottscotrust.org.uk/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7776018302/m/83710437/p/1


Not being rich, we cut out (physically, with scissors) all of the financial information from a leaflet we then handed out at the match. Roy Parker, one of the club directors, to tell me that distributing leaflets with bits cut out was illegal.

:D
 
The Big Libel Gig on Sunday 14 March 2010 at the London’s Palace Theatre will raise funds to support the Coalition for Libel Reform. An eclectic line-up, including Dara Ó Briain, Tim Minchin, Marcus Brigstocke, Robin Ince, Ed Byrne, Shappi Khorsandi, Professor Brian Cox, Simon Singh, Professor Richard Wiseman, Dr Peter Wilmshurst and Dr Ben Goldacre, is supporting the campaign for a public interest defence to protect writers, bloggers, academics, human rights activists and performers.
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http://www.libelreform.org/the-big-libel-gig

Tim Minchin's take:
"Here is what current English libel laws say: 'Dear inquisitive, hard-working person with the public interest at heart: If a rich ******* tells you to shut-up, you'd better shut-the ****-up or be prepared to go broke'. It needs a tweak, we reckon."

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http://www.facebook.com/notes/tim-minchin/the-big-libel-gig/499408300610
 
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Buy tickets NOW!

I'll be in the UK, but the GF and I are off to the wilds of darkest Applecross on the 13th, so nipping off to London would not be viewed favourably. Looks like a good lineup.
 
In one of the other medically related libel cases, Henrik Thomsen is reported to be launching a counterclaim against GE Healthcare: Danish scientist sued by drug firm under British libel laws to counterclaim.

A leading medical scientist being sued under British libel laws for criticising a giant corporation has found an innovative way to hit back: he is to launch a counterclaim for libel.

Henrik Thomsen, a Danish radiologist, is to launch the claim against GE Healthcare, a subsidiary of the US conglomerate General Electric, after the company accused him of defamation and issued a press release calling him a liar.
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Interesting:

In agreed statements released today:

Thomsen said:
"I stand by my publicly expressed opinion, based on my experience and research on published papers, that there is an association between the chemical formulation of gadolinium-based contrast agents and NSF."
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He added:
"It was not my intention to suggest on the basis of the evidence then available to me that GE Healthcare had marketed Omniscan knowing that it might cause NSF."
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The company, a subsidiary of the giant US corporation General Electric, said it had not intended to "stifle academic debate" by suing Thomsen for libel, and accepted that his concerns were expressed in good faith:
"GE Healthcare objected to statements made by Professor Thomsen which it interpreted as suggesting that it had known from the outset that Omniscan caused NSF."
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The company said it welcomed what it called a "principled debate" about safety issues.
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