A few words on this, from the Home Secretary, and contempt of court. Firstly, it’s unusual. There is a convention that MPs and especially ministers do not comment on live proceedings. But…(there’s always a but, and this is a fairly big one)…

https://twitter.com/suellabraverman/status/1705854919171768585

Criminal prosecution operates under the presumption of innocence, and so, as a very general rule, publication that veers towards the defendant and innocence doesn’t get prosecuted for contempt. This is why we sometimes see protestations of innocence by a defendant published…

This morning I woke up with an alarming case of conjunctivitis. I’ve had it before, but this was extraordinary, there was no white to my eyes any more, just red, I had become Tony Blair in the Saatchis’ demon eyes poster… Luckily we have a walk-in centre at our local town hospital in Malton, so off I trotted, or fumbled. Unluckily, due to staff shortages, all the nurse practitioners had been sent to Scarborough, so it was closed to walk-ins…

Ok, here goes, why I don’t think #JeremyClarkson has committed a hate crime against Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Please bear in mind this is not a defence of what he wrote. I’m just trying to explain why he hasn’t broken the law, or in my view, the Editors’ Code of Practice A few people have asked me whether what he wrote was a hate crime, and I’ve seen quite a few of those reacting with disgust to his column suggesting it might be. If you want to read it it’s here - thesun.co.uk/news/20782114/… - I quite understand if you don’t…

A lot of people, some of whom have ulterior motives to do with their animosity to @jk_rowling, are professing some confusion about using ‘her exact words’. A few points…

https://twitter.com/no1guncle/status/1435952913638215684

In defamation you are responsible for the plain meaning of what you publish, as well as any implications those words might have as well.

Regarding the MP arrest, the legal requirement to maintain anonymity of a complainant is not normally a reason not to identify an arrested person. The media know well how to report such matters. A few points on this as there is a load of conspiracy bobbins appearing about this on here. Firstly, the MPs name is not the subject of a D-Notice, or DSMA Notice, as they are now called. It just isn’t. If you think it is, have a little lie down and calm yourself...

Quick thread on the libel and privacy actions threatened against those who published the leaked #LabourReport. Firstly, libel. Ordinarily, if an organisation publishes arrowy of disciplinary investigations and proceedings, the media would feel safe in publishing it... This is because they would have a defence of qualified privilege - this protects the media reporting so long as it is a fair, accurate report, on a matter of public interest, published without malice and subject to a right of reply, if requested...

Important judgement by Mr Justice Knowles - Humberside Police acted unlawfully in visiting a man’s place of work when investigating allegations of transphobic tweets - judiciary.uk/wp-content/upl…, but College of Policing operational guidance is lawful. Extraordinary language by the judge in this case:

A short-ish thread on #shorthand, as it’s getting a bit of attention after a Uni dropped it from a journalism syllabus. When I started as a reporter back in 1988 it was an essential skill. Most reporters would spend a good deal of time reporting courts, councils, inquests and public meetings, where it is absolutely crucial to take an accurate record...

I’m surprised I have to explain this to journalists, but here goes, a short thread on #BorisJohnson and privacy... Question 1. If you are having an argument so loud and violent it can be heard in neighbouring properties and the street, and the police are called, do you have a ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’. I’m not polling this, the answer is no.

Katie Hopkins applies for insolvency agreement to avoid bankruptcy theguardian.com/media/2018/sep… - a short thread on Katie, the law, and how this all might have been avoided if she hadn’t been so trigger-happy with the block button... You see, Katie blocked me a long, long time ago. Before all this blew up. Not because of anything I tweeted to her, but because *a lot* of people were pointing her in my direction...

A quick thread on the ridiculous abuse aimed @hendopolis over #TomorrowsPapersToday and #BrendanCox... Firstly, the repetition rule in libel, which is painfully simple, if you repeat a libel you are liable for it. This includes RTs...