A desperate effort to muzzle the free press has failed. It should never have been pursued, never have got as far as it did, and never be permitted to happen again.
The High Court has rejected a bit for an injunction preventing ITN and the Guardian from naming David Walliams, the actor and children’s author, as the perpetrator of extensive alleged sexual misconduct and inappropriate conduct. The judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, also made the point that the injunction would have interfered with the freedom of experssion of the 30 women who have made allegations against Walliams. It can now be reported that Walliams sought to block publication of these allegations, which he denies, on the grounds that it was “highly likely” he would try to take his own life if they were made public.
Walliams received letters from ITN and the Guardian in May setting out 278 numbered points alleging he had used his fame and influence to sexually exploit numerous young women over many years. This is stated in a High Court judgment allowing publication to proceed. Yet Walliams was referred to in court, and hence in media reports, utnil today as “PPT” because of his application for permanent anonymity.
Had his application succeeded, it would have established a pernicious precedent. On that basis, anyone in the public eye with enough money might stymie investigative reporting by claiming they were at risk of suicide. No free society can acquiesce to this argument. And it’s to the credit of ITN and the Guardian that they challenged Walliams’s lawyers.
The lifting of the injunction has no bearing on the truth or otherwise of the allegations. Nor is there reason to doubt the seriousness of Walliams’s claim that he is at risk of self-harm. According to his legal team, Walliams attempted twice to take his own life after receiving these letters, and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. His representatives have specifically referred to the issue of mental health, and to Walliams’s recurrent clinical depression and suicidal thoughts, and the judge took it seriously.
I know something of what it’s like. I once, years ago, suffered a severe and prolonged depressive episode, to the extent that I couldn’t function and thought constantly about death. I wrote a book about it, in the hope that others in the same position would know there are remedies, as I found, through psychological treatment, antidepressant medication, the support of my employer, and the care of friends and family. But I was very lucky to have these, in the way few others do.
I can understand that Walliams feels desperate. But his psychological state has – and must have – no bearing on either the investigations of assiduous journalists or the right of a free press to publish their findings. Nor must it have any bearing on the right of the women involved to be heard. That way lies tyranny.
Walliams’s lawyers referred the court to obligations under the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights, protecting the right to life. The judge also considered Article 10 – the right to freedom of expression – of the women who made the allegations, as well as the defendants.
He said: “It would prohibit the defendants from publishing the results of their investigations into allegations of serious wrongdoing by a prominent individual. It would also prevent the sources [the women] whose accounts form part of those investigations from communicating their experiences to the public, through the defendants.”
The common sense position is that publication of serious allegations of sexual misconduct (or any other type of malfeasance) gives a defendant a right to self-defence. They can sue for defamation on publication or, in the case of prosecution, have a fair trial. And the common sense position should stand. It’s the task of health professionals to care for the vulnerable, and the task of the legal system to secure justice.
Had Walliams’s application prevailed, anyone with the means to go to court would have had a new way to try to stop otherwise lawful reporting. As Mr Justice Nicklin explained, the proposed duty would require a court to block publication where it was satisified publication would create “a sufficiently grave risk of suicide or psychiatric harm” and where an injunction was “the most effective means of preventing the trigger”.
And that would have been the end of serious challenge to those who exploit their position for ulterior purposes. A democracy cannot allow those with financial means to lead a privileged life insulated from scrutiny. Walliams now knows this.
For confidential support, Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.
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