LIBEL REFORM CAMPAIGN

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Dear friends,

Thank you all for your support of the Libel Reform Campaign over the past year. And what a year it has been! We now have 55,000 supporters and the Government is committed to libel reform.

With your help we had some incredible achievements:

• Thanks to our campaign, the Government has committed to publish a draft Defamation Bill in early 2011, and all 3 main political parties backed our calls for libel reform in their election manifestos.
• We raised public and political awareness of the chilling effects of English libel law on free speech around the world.
• Over 55,000 people joined the campaign after appeals from Simon Singh, Ben Goldacre, Pete Wilmshurst, and others
• Thanks to your donations we have held a series of event with MPs across the country and published Reforming Libel: What Must a Defamation Bill Achieve? http://goo.gl/Qmx5H

But the law is not reformed yet. Hardeep Singh is facing yet another libel action from His Holiness Jeet Singh, the leader of a religious group in India, a man who has never stepped foot in Britain. The number of libel cases rose this year. Corporations continue to issue libel writs against scientists and NGOs. Dr. Peter Wilmshurst is still fighting his libel case. There is much to do.
After the Government publishes the draft Defamation Bill early next year, opponents to change including big vested interests will be active in undermining the case for reform.
We’re so close, but we need your help in the New Year to finally achieve reform of our libel laws. The Libel Reform Campaign has a new fund to help us keep the campaign going until we get our laws reformed. http://www.justgiving.com/libelreformappeal2011
Please help us keep up the pressure on the government. In the meantime, thank you all so very much. As always, please encourage all those you know to support us at www.libelreform.org/sign
Best,

Síle and Mike