Defamation firm Carter-Fuck scored a spectacular own goal this week when a huge internet protest forced it to abandon an injunction against the Guardian.
Carter-Ruck was acting for Trafigura, an oil trading company accused of dumping toxic waste in Ivory Coast. The firm tried to stop the Guardian from reporting a parliamentary question on the matter, claiming that the paper would be prevented from doing so under the terms of a secret injunction previously obtained by Trafigura.
The Guardian therefore announced that it was being prevented from reporting a question tabled by an MP, and all hell broke loose. Blogs around the world posted the question and the identity of the MP who had tabled it (Paul Farrelly), as did thousands of users of Twitter. The Liberal Democrats tabled an urgent question on the matter. Within hours Carter-Ruck realised that trying to fetter the reporting of parliamentary proceedings was probably a bit rich and caved in.
By then the genie was out of the bottle. Massive attention had been drawn to an otherwise trivial matter and millions of people now associate Trafigura and Carter-Ruck with trying to interfere with parliamentary privilege. Peter Bottomly MP has said that he'll report Carter-Ruck to the Law Society and Paul Farrelly has asked the Speaker whether the firm could be guilty of contempt of parliament. The Prime Minister has launched an inquiry into secret injunctions - a dubious cottage industry pretty much created by the likes of Carter-Ruck and Schillings - which he described as "an unfortunate area of the law".
Carter-Ruck was too busy hiding under its rock to comment. Bell Pottinger, the consultancy which is laughably providing PR services to Trafigura, confirmed that the firm had written to all MPs to clarify the matter.
Tip Off ROF
Carter-Ruck was acting for Trafigura, an oil trading company accused of dumping toxic waste in Ivory Coast. The firm tried to stop the Guardian from reporting a parliamentary question on the matter, claiming that the paper would be prevented from doing so under the terms of a secret injunction previously obtained by Trafigura.
The Guardian therefore announced that it was being prevented from reporting a question tabled by an MP, and all hell broke loose. Blogs around the world posted the question and the identity of the MP who had tabled it (Paul Farrelly), as did thousands of users of Twitter. The Liberal Democrats tabled an urgent question on the matter. Within hours Carter-Ruck realised that trying to fetter the reporting of parliamentary proceedings was probably a bit rich and caved in.
By then the genie was out of the bottle. Massive attention had been drawn to an otherwise trivial matter and millions of people now associate Trafigura and Carter-Ruck with trying to interfere with parliamentary privilege. Peter Bottomly MP has said that he'll report Carter-Ruck to the Law Society and Paul Farrelly has asked the Speaker whether the firm could be guilty of contempt of parliament. The Prime Minister has launched an inquiry into secret injunctions - a dubious cottage industry pretty much created by the likes of Carter-Ruck and Schillings - which he described as "an unfortunate area of the law".
 |
Get Carter-Ruck |
Carter-Ruck was too busy hiding under its rock to comment. Bell Pottinger, the consultancy which is laughably providing PR services to Trafigura, confirmed that the firm had written to all MPs to clarify the matter.