Out of harm's way

A claimant cannot have an actionable defamation claim unless the allegedly defamatory statement has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of that claimant. For bodies trading for profit, harm to the reputation of the claimant cannot be serious harm unless it has caused or is likely to cause serious financial loss to that claimant. This doctrine, known as the “serious harm requirement”, has been debated at length in a number of well-known cases. The Supreme Court’s decision in Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd & Anor [2019] UKSC 27 would appear to settle that debate, at least for now.