Wilkes successfully claimed parliamentary privilege against arrest for libel and challenged the constitutional propriety of General Warrants he won his case.
George III issued a writ against Wilkes for seditious libel, using a general warrant to enforce it, which meant everyone involved in producing and distributing the newspaper was arrested. In 1763, however, he seemed to have gone too far when Issue 45 of his newspaper, the North Briton, attacked the peace terms negotiated at the end of the Seven Years’ War (1756–63), which were announced in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament. John Wilkes was a radical journalist and MP who had gleefully got under the skin of King George III and his ministers with his written attacks and satires. Let’s look at how the law has worked in practice, with nine landmark cases… Many journalists are concerned that English libel law constitutes a serious threat to press freedom, either by direct action or by lawsuits brought by the rich and powerful which have little chance of winning but can still intimidate defendants or drain them of money and resources. Nevertheless, the burden of proof remains on the defendant. The 2013 Act also substituted trial-by-judge for trial-by-jury and considerably extended the scope of privilege against liability for libel to include academic papers, website owners, and reports on the proceedings of foreign governments. The Defamation Act of 2013 clarified that mere opinion could not be held libellous, while also clamping down on libel tourism and requiring plaintiffs, including businesses, to demonstrate serious reputational harm or financial loss. In recent years, parliament has sought both to tighten up the libel laws and to strengthen the position of defendants.
By the 20th century, London was becoming the ‘libel tourism’ capital of the world, favoured by the rich because bringing a case there carried a high probability of winning – plus the likelihood of substantial damages.
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