The outcome of the complaint by Matthew Hopkins News against Charlotte Proudman has been received and she has (annoyingly) escaped censure.
The Bar Standards Board will not take action against Charlotte Proudman over ‘LinkedIn’ tweet.
The complaints by this publication and its readers were dismissed because –
“There is no suggestion that the message sent to Miss Proudman was confidential or could not, for legal reasons, be disclosed by her to other parties. Furthermore, Miss Proudman was free to make such comments as she saw fit as long as they were not unlawful.”
Whilst this is disappointing, at least the BSB has supported the principle of free speech, which is a plus to we cultural libertarians.
It is important to remember that this outcome does not mean Proudman was, right, or kind, or wise – only that she has not breached any laws or regulatory requirements.
Her vicious public defamation of lawyer Alexander Carter-Silk for what amounts to an unwanted compliment falls far short of the conduct expected by the Bar Standards Board and it has brought the profession into disrepute.
The suggestion that the message sent to Ms Proudman couldn’t be deemed as confidential is without merit. When people send messages outside of the public arena on social media in specific ‘private’ message areas – there’s a clear implication that by opting to use this channel, the message is between the sender and recipient only. Quite how the the BSB concluded otherwise is staggering.
Ms Proudman is entitled to reject/rebuff unsolicited compliments. However, publishing a private conversation & asserting potentially libellous claims about misogamy and sexism – especially from her position as barrister – is totally unacceptable and arguably falls foul of criminal defamation law. In that respect I’m exasperated that the BSB have reached a conclusion that Ms Proudman’s comments weren’t unlawful
I think the verdict on your complaint is a disgrace and completely without merit.
Thanks for that. Whilst I believe Ms Proudman was unfair, please note that criminal libel has been abolished in the UK by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The only types of libel claim available in the UK are civil.
Ideally, Carter-Silk should take out a defamation case, criminal or otherwise.