Many people will know about the libel charge raised against Dr Simon Singh by the British Chiropractic Association over an article he wrote in the Guardian newspaper. It concerned claims made by many chiropractors to be able to treat illnesses such as childhood colic and asthma, claims which Simon Singh said were not supported by the evidence.
You would expect the case to rest on consideration of the evidence, namely whether or not it showed the claims to be able to treat the conditions to be true or false. Not at all.
The case rests on the meaning of the word "bogus". The BCA claims that its reputation has been attacked because the article said that the BCA was not acting against those who employed such bogus treatments.
When challenged by thousands of eminent scientists to produce the evidence, the BCA provided a list of papers published largely in chiropractic journals. The papers were examined by many people including the British Medical Journal. The BMJ said in an editorial that the references were "totally demolished". Indeed even a cursory glance at the evidence claimed by chiropractors shows trials which had no controls, trials which were not double-blinded, and a preponderance of anecdotal evidence which falls well below accepted scientific standards. For that reason, they have failed to produce the evidence they claim is there.
Today is the day when Dr Simon Singh makes his appeal against the ruling on meaning by the high court. He has to challenge the interpretation given to the word "bogus" by a judge, but in order to do that, he has to get permission to appeal. That has already been turned down twice.
In the UK libel law, you are guilty until proven innocent. That means once someone accuses you of libel, you have to do the costly work of proving yourself innocent. The threat of bankruptcy allows larger commercial interests, who have greater resources, to predominate.
It is likely that Simon Singh will fail again. But having exhausted the UK legal system, he is then free to challenge the ruling under European Law.
The legal background is explained for non-legal types by Jack of Kent. The British Chiropractic Association knows about its shaky ground and there is already advice circulating to chiropractors about what claims should be removed from websites. The McTimony Association sent this letter to its members. It makes very interesting reading. We can hope that Dr Simon Singh is successful, but confidently expect that he won't be. Libel laws are geared towards permitting those with the money to stifle criticism, not defend free speech and the authority of evidence.
Bob Lloyd has studied in four universities and has degrees in Biochemistry, Mathematics, and Computer Science. After a long career in publishing, teaching, and software engineering, he is now retired and lives in Andalucia in the South of Spain with his wife and rather ancient cat.
