British officials criticize libel tourism

The Free Speech Protection Act of 2008, intended to protect American authors' First Amendment rights from libel suits brought in other countries, appears to have bogged down in Washington. However, there's good news from across the pond.

The UK minister of justice and Members of Parliament have attacked the British libel law which allows people like Khalid Bin Mafouz, who lives in Saudi Arabia, to sue American authors like Rachel Ehrenfeld, to suppress allegations that he finances Islamist terrorism. The current law, according to Labour MP Denis MacShane, 'shames Britain and makes a mockery of the idea that Britain is a protector of core democratic freedoms'. Let's hope he and others can fix the problem.