Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice

The Guardian is reporting that, “Within the last hour, Trafigura’s lawyers Carter-Ruck, abandoned an attempt to prevent the Guardian from reporting proceedings in parliament which revealed its existence.”

This is welcome news. It is not hyperbole to say that the injunction threatened British democracy; the people must be able to know what their representatives are doing. It was, to my mind, quite incredible that a newspaper could be prevented from publishing a parliamentary question. One hopes that the injunction will focus attention on whether the right balance is being struck in our libel laws.

MPs now have a chance to stand up for the dignity of Parliament which has been so tarnished by the expenses scandal. Parliament should debate this matter and conduct hearings into how we have got into a situation where a Parliamentary Question cannot be reported.