General election 2015: Lib Dem manifesto and the review of the 2013 Defamation Act

This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.

In their manifesto issued todaythis document, the Lib Dems promise to: "Undertake a post-legislative review of the 2013 Defamation Act, which Liberal Democrats drove through Parliament, to ensure the new provisions are reducing the chill of libel threats". We have identified a number of major concerns with the 2013 Act and how it operates which mean that it has sown a significant amount of confusion and uncertainty. These concerns are set out in . We have shared these with Lib Dem peer, Lord Lester, the principal driving force behind the Act. We would hope that if such a review were to be undertaken, these concerns would be fully addressed.