Rehabilitation and Actions For Libel Under English Law
Section 8 of the Act, if a person can prove that the details of a spent conviction were published with a primarily motive of causing damage to the subject (malice), then the publisher may be subject to libel damages regardless of whether the details were true or not. This applies where the publisher is relying on a defence of qualified privilege or justification.
According to reference book Media and the Law, although British media remain free to publish the details of spent convictions, provided they are not motivated by malice, they generally avoid mention of such convictions after rehabilitation. However, media barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC is of the opinion that "in practice, the law of libel provides no sanction against the publication of spent convictions".
Read more about this topic: Rehabilitation Of Offenders Act 1974
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