Slough defamation claim could go all the way to Supreme Court

A defamation case involving Slough Borough Council could be heading to the Supreme Court, it has emerged.

The case involved the naming of the claimant on the local authority’s Violent Persons Register, which was then circulated to a range of council officers and employees as well as community wardens and a number of Slough’s partner organisations.

Last month the local authority failed to persuade the Court of Appeal to reject the claim on the grounds of qualified privilege.

Lord Justice Ward ruled that the council was bound to act in a way that was compatible with Ms Clift’s right to protection of reputation under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“Ill-considered and indiscriminate disclosure is bound to be disproportionate and no plea of administrative difficulty in verifying the information and limiting publication to those who truly have the need to know or those reasonably thought to be at risk can outweigh the substantial interference with the right to protect reputations,” the judge said.

The impact of the ruling would appear to be that, to rely on qualified privilege, councils have to carry out an assessment in each case where similar information is to be published and circulated.

A spokeswoman for Slough said the decision to seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court was taken by its insurers Zurich Municipal.

A spokeswoman for Zurich meanwhile said: “While we are disappointed at the Court of Appeal decision we remain of the view that this judgement has significant implications for public bodies, due to the tension between the Human Rights Act and the defence of qualified privilege.

“We are committed, where there are matters of public interest, to escalating these concerns and to gaining clarity at the highest level on this important issue. We therefore reserve the right to lodge an appeal to the Supreme Court.”