Ratio Decidendi
A new form of qualified privilege (later called 'Reynolds privilege') was available to the media where responsible journalism on a matter of public interest was practised. The court set out a non-exhaustive list of factors to assess whether publication was responsible.
Facts
Albert Reynolds, the former Taoiseach of Ireland, sued The Sunday Times for libel over an article about his resignation as Taoiseach, which he alleged carried a defamatory imputation that he had deliberately and dishonestly misled the Dáil. The Sunday Times argued that the publication was protected by qualified privilege because it concerned a matter of public interest.
Judgment Summary
The House of Lords developed a new form of qualified privilege for publications on matters of public interest. Lord Nicholls set out ten factors (the 'Reynolds factors') for assessing whether the duty-interest test for qualified privilege was satisfied, including: the seriousness of the allegation, the source of the information, steps taken to verify, the urgency of the matter, and whether the claimant's side of the story was sought.
Key Quotes
"The press discharges vital functions as a bloodhound as well as a watchdog. The court should be slow to conclude that a publication was not in the public interest."
— Lord Nicholls
Subsequent Treatment
Reynolds privilege was abolished and replaced by the statutory defence of publication on a matter of public interest in s.4 Defamation Act 2013, though the Reynolds factors remain influential in applying the new defence.