Miller v Associated Newspapers Ltd

Miller v Associated Newspapers Ltd

The words complained of meant that there were, at the date of publication, reasonable grounds to suspect that Mr Miller was a willing beneficiary of improper conduct and cronyism because of his friendship with Sir Ian Blair in respect of the award of a number of Metropolitan Police Service contracts to Mr Miller’s company worth millions of pounds of public money, and that that is a meaning defamatory of Mr Miller.

Parties
Claimant: Andrew James Miller; Defendant: Associated Newspapers Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
11 November 2011
Procedural Posture
Libel Action / Trial of Preliminary Issue on Meaning
Outcome
The words complained of bear a defamatory meaning at Chase Level 2.
Legal Topics
Libel, Defamatory Meaning, Chase Levels, Cronyism, Public Contracts
Defamation Media Law Libel Defamatory Meaning Chase Levels Cronyism Public Contracts

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Parties

Andrew James Miller

Claimant

Associated Newspapers Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Libel Action / Trial of Preliminary Issue on Meaning

Legal Issues

  1. 1 What is the natural and ordinary meaning of the words complained of?
  2. 2 Do the words bear a defamatory meaning of the claimant?
  3. 3 At what Chase level is the imputation made?

Ratio Decidendi

The words complained of meant that there were, at the date of publication, reasonable grounds to suspect that Mr Miller was a willing beneficiary of improper conduct and cronyism because of his friendship with Sir Ian Blair in respect of the award of a number of Metropolitan Police Service contracts to Mr Miller’s company worth millions of pounds of public money, and that that is a meaning defamatory of Mr Miller.

Court Disposition

The words complained of bear a defamatory meaning at Chase Level 2.