Lord Lester of Herne Hill

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Lord Lester is a Liberal Democrat Member of the House of Lords. He has been described as a "libel reform campaigner."

Defamation Bill

Lord Lester has been highly critical of an amendment put forward by Labour's Lord Puttnam which may cause the whole Defamation Bill to be dropped by the Coalition Government. The amendment would create a libel arbitration body that would be empowered to issue large fines to journalists who did not consult with it before publishing their stories. The amendment, passed by 272 to 141 in the House of Lords, has led to speculation that the Bill may be dropped entirely rather than face defeat in the House of Commons if the amendment cannot be removed.