When the Court of Appeal first handed down its decision in 1998 in the case of Reynolds v Times Newspapers & Ors, protecting the media’s freedom to publish untrue statements without malice, the decision was hailed as a victory for free speech.

Eight years on the media has found it difficult to use the Reynolds defence in its favour – until this year, when Doughty Street Chambers duo Gavin Millar QC and Geoffrey Robertson QC successfully used it in two separate cases.

Millar’s case came first. He acted for anti-fascist magazine Searchlight in a case brought by the British National Party. The Reynolds defence convinced Mr Justice Eady to rule that political commentators had a duty to report on the internal goings-on of political parties.

Robertson followed up with a decisive victory for the Wall Street Journal in October in a case that widened Reynolds. The House of Lords ruled decisively that, if a journalist or an editor acts responsibly, they are protected by the defence.

The cases are finally proof that the media can use Reynolds to uphold freedom of expression. Millar and Robertson’s work should be applauded.