Science writer Simon Singh has been silenced by English libel laws.
Credit: Simon Singh
Thousands of people have already signed an online petition backing Singh, which says "We, the undersigned, believe that it is inappropriate to use the English libel laws to silence critical discussion of medical practice and scientific evidence."
Eminent signatories who have stepped up in support of Singh include a Nobel laureate; evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins; former science advisor to Tony Blair, David King; Lord Rees of Ludlow, president of the British Royal Society; Philip Cambell, the editor-In-chief of the journal Nature and actor and comedian Stephen Fry.
"The English libel laws are an international laughing stock, and the effects are especially pernicious where science is concerned," Dawkins told the The Independent.
Legal Action by BCA
It is essential that all scientists have the right to question things even if they are considered orthodoxies of the day. Unfortunately, this case also demonstrates the need to ensure good grammatical and language practice when writing so that ambiguities or interpretations about words used are not subject to this kind of hair-splitting.
When Simon Singh said that
When Simon Singh said that the BCA "happily promotes bogus treatments" that ambiguously suggests that he is implying that they know the treatments are bogus and deliberately deceive the public by promoting them. This is the interpretation the judge gave.
However, Simon Singh intended the word "bogus" to apply to Chiropractic treatment, not the Chiropractors themselves, and the rest of his article goes on to talk about these "bogus" treatments, not about "bogus" Chiropractors. He is also on record elsewhere as saying that he does not believe that Chiropractors themselves are "bogus" in the sense that they are promoting treatments that they know to be bogus.
Two further points.
- When he talks about "bogus" treatments he is referring to the treatment of children with sleeping disorders, eating problems, prolonged crying, frequent ear infections, and asthma.
- The judge has been critised in the past for his decisions in libel cases and, as a result many states in the USA are preparing to pregvent his decisions from affecting authors living in the USA
regards,
BillyJoe