In a landmark ruling last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that internet publishers could not be sued in the English courts unless there had been a “substantial” publication in England. The ruling came in an action brought by Yousef Jameel, a Saudi Arabian who sought to sue the United States-based Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, in London.

The Court of Appeal threw out the libel action against the online publication, saying that only five people in England had read the allegedly defamatory item, but Mr Jameel is appealing in a case that could lead to new guidelines on when publishers can rely on the so-called Reynolds defence, a defence of “public interest” or qualified privilege.

Newspapers say that the defence has not helped in publishing matters in the public interest because courts have applied it very restrictively. Richard Rampton, QC, a leading defamation specialist, said: “This has not been the new dawn for newspapers. From the claimant’s point of view, the Reynolds defence is a cause for celebration.” He added that there needed to be a less strict application of the defence.

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