Offer of amends

Tesco Stores Ltd v Guardian News & Media Ltd and another QBD SJ 9 September; LSG 11 September p24

The Guardian newspaper published allegations that the claimants had engaged in a scheme designed to avoid corporation tax and the claimants instigated a libel action and a claim for malicious falsehood. The defendant admitted the falsehood in that the scheme in question did not involve the avoidance of corporation tax, but rather an avoidance of stamp duty land tax. It also admitted that the meanings pleaded by the claimant were defamatory. The defendant made an offer of amends pursuant to s2 of the Defamation Act 1996, which the claimant neither accepted nor rejected. The issue for determination by the court was whether a claimant should be compelled to elect either to accept or reject the offer of amends and also whether its malicious falsehood claim should be stayed as serving no useful purpose. The defendant submitted there was no head of damages recoverable in malicious falsehood.