Pre-publication advice and injunctions

If something is about to be published, telephone. Do not email, and do not wait until tomorrow.

The window

Before publication, you may be able to prevent something entirely. After it, you are dealing with damage that already exists.

That is the whole of it, and it is why this is the one situation in this area where hours genuinely matter. A story stopped is a story nobody reads, nobody shares, and nobody finds when they search your name in five years.

If you have been contacted for comment

A journalist’s request for comment is not a courtesy. It is usually a legal requirement in disguise — a publisher relying on the public interest defence needs to show it acted reasonably, and putting allegations to you is part of that.

It also tells you three things: something is coming, roughly what it says, and roughly when.

The deadline will be short, frequently the same day. That is deliberate.

How you respond matters enormously. A response can correct a factual error before publication, remove the sting from an allegation, or provide context that changes the story. A badly judged response can confirm something they could not otherwise have stood up, or provide a quote that becomes the headline.

No comment is a decision, not a default. Sometimes it is right. Frequently it is not, because it removes your only opportunity to influence what is published.

Take advice before responding. An hour spent on the response is worth more than anything that can be done afterwards.

Injunctions

Where publication would be unlawful, the court can restrain it. But there is an important distinction.

In defamation, prior restraint is very difficult. Where the publisher says they will prove the statement is true, the court will generally not injunct — the principle being that they should be free to publish and be sued afterwards if wrong. So an injunction to stop a defamatory story is rarely available.

In privacy and confidence, it is a different matter. Where the material is private or confidential, an injunction is a realistic prospect, because damages cannot restore privacy once it is gone. This is why the claim you frame matters so much at this stage: the same story may be unstoppable as a defamation matter and restrainable as a privacy one.

Applications can be made urgently, including out of hours and at very short notice. Where necessary, an application can be made without notice to the other side, though that carries strict duties of disclosure.

Before you do anything

Do not threaten the publisher yourself. A threatening letter from you can be published, can look like an attempt to suppress legitimate journalism, and can turn a small story into a larger one about attempts to silence it.

Do not contact the source. It can amount to interference, it can look like intimidation, and it frequently makes matters considerably worse.

Preserve everything — the approach, the questions put, any correspondence, and the deadline given.

Tell us what is actually true. We cannot advise usefully on incomplete instructions, and a story that is partly right needs a different approach from one that is wholly wrong.

Realistic expectations

Most stories are not injuncted, and any firm suggesting otherwise is overselling.

What more often works: a well-judged pre-publication letter that corrects the errors, narrows what is said, secures the inclusion of your position, or persuades a publisher that a particular allegation cannot be stood up. That is a smaller victory than an injunction and frequently a more achievable one — and the difference between the story that runs and the one that would have run is often substantial.

What it costs

Urgent work is hourly at £400 plus VAT. We will tell you what we expect it to cost as we go rather than afterwards, and where an injunction application is in contemplation we will set out the costs risk before anything is issued — including that an undertaking in damages is usually required, meaning you may have to compensate the publisher if the injunction turns out to have been wrongly granted.

That is a real risk and it should be understood before an application, not after.

Questions

Questions people ask us

A journalist has asked me for comment. What do I do?

Take advice before responding, and quickly — the deadline will be short. The response is your only opportunity to influence what is published, and both a poor response and no response can make things worse.

Can you stop the story?

Sometimes. If it is a privacy or confidence matter, an injunction is realistic. If it is defamation and the publisher intends to prove truth, prior restraint is very difficult. Which it is depends on the material, which is why the first conversation matters.

How quickly can you act?

Urgent applications can be made at very short notice, including out of hours. Telephone rather than email — email is not a way to reach anyone in time.

Should I say "no comment"?

It is a decision, not a safe default. Sometimes it is right; frequently it gives up your only chance to change what is published.

What if it has already been published?

Then the question becomes removal, correction, apology and damages. Still worth acting quickly — early intervention limits spread and preserves evidence.

The hub

Defamation & reputation →

Also in this area

Libel claims →

Also in this area

Slander claims →

Start with a conversation

A free 20-minute call. Tell us what has happened and we will tell you whether we can help, what it would involve and roughly what it would cost.

No charge

A free 20-minute call

Tell us what has happened and we will tell you whether we can help, what it would involve and roughly what it would cost. No advice is given on this call and there is no charge for it.

£350 plus VAT

A paid strategy session

One hour with a partner, followed by a written summary of your position and options. For people who want proper advice without instructing a firm yet. Credited in full against your fees if you go on to instruct us.

Or reach us directly

0207 112 8818

WhatsApp +44 7476 045967

[email protected]

We answer enquiries the same working day.