Dead? That’s no reason not to sue for libel

Speaking ill of the dead could become a lot more expensive. The government is to consider extending the laws of defamation so that even the deceased - or at least their representatives - can sue for libel.

Under current laws, litigants need to be alive for a court action to be pursued claiming someone has wrongly damaged their reputation. The government is now discussing proposals that could eventually mean reputations - from newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell’s to Victorian prime minister Lord Gladstone’s - could be defended beyond the grave.

The review was first announced in a Home Office paper on preventing criminals from profiting from their crimes. It highlighted concerns that murder victims could be slandered by their killers with no redress for their families.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs is expected to release a consultation paper later this year that will the option of extending libel laws to the dead. It would primarily be intended to protect the reputations of homicide victims, but it is likely to prove impractical to restrict it to one specific group.

Legal experts say the move would dangerously undermine free speech. Newspapers, books or films depicting the dead would require proof of their claims about them, or face the threat of injunctions or even payouts to relatives.

China is one of the few countries that extends its libel laws to the dead.