English libel battle rages on

"For years, London has had the reputation of being the place to go to court if one wants to divorce, and fleece a partner while doing so. Less publicly, however, it has equally become a place to sue, or threaten to sue, scientists and those writing about scientists" writes Mark Hennessy in The Irish Times. Commented upon recently by Richard Dawkins in the Guardian, the worrying trend of scientists being sued by practitioners of pseudoscientific medicine and medical companies alike has gained increased media attention since the case of Simon Singh began over 18 months ago, and has drawn in individuals far beyond the borders of the city in question. Síle Lane, a native of Co. Cork who studied stem cell research at UCC, has joined the fray by heading the Keep Libel Out Of Science campaign on behalf of Sense About Science, a London-based lobby group backed by prominent scientists like Dr. Dawkins and other intellectuals, such as Stephen Fry. Set up in 2002, the group's intention is to combat what it calls "an anti-science" atmosphere in the UK, and it has received increased media attention since Singh's case began as well as support from, amongst others, the Liberal Democrats, who have, according to Mark Hennessy's article, "overwhelmingly backed reform", a move Lane calls "a great step forward" in challenging the "chilling, stultifying effect" of English libel laws. With libel cases in the UK costing four times as much as in Ireland, which is in turn ten times dearer than the next most expensive European country, Italy, scientists cannot afford to speak out for fear of legal action, the net result being that, as Sense About Science puts it, "a country that...once led the world in technological advances [is] now falling behind". Scientific, and, by proxy, societal advancement is dependent by its very nature on critical thinking, open questioning and debate, skepticism and the ability to voice concerns, hypotheses, misgivings and opinions without fear of oppression. One can only hope that as media attention continues to focus on the outrages in progress, such as the Singh case, real progress will be made in ensuring they can never be repeated.