Council pays damages to settle claims over eviction of pro-life charity from country show

Lambeth Council has agreed to pay Life £5,000 to settle claims arising from the removal of the charity's stall from the 2018 Lambeth Country Show.

The local authority will also publish an apology on Twitter and has undertaken not to publish, or cause to be published, the same or similar words to those originally tweeted by the council on July 22, 2018.

Life was thrown out on the second day of the show. A councillor then claimed on Twitter that the charity had attended without permission. Both the councillor and Lambeth then tweeted that the Life had provided inaccurate information to make its booking.

The charity said all these statements were untrue. “Life had provided accurate and detailed information about its organisation, and its exhibits on the stall when it was booked several months before the show.  Its presence had been fully approved.”

Life said the false claims by the council could have caused serious harm to its reputation and undermined its work.

Life’s Head of Advocacy Liz Parsons said: “Lambeth’s agreement to settle this matter through a payment of damages is a victory for common sense and freedom of expression. In a climate where the prolife voice is being shut down by local authorities across the country, we want to be clear that we are not going anywhere.”

Sponsored Editorial

Need a transcript or recording?

Are you a Paralegal or a Legal Officer? Have you been asked to obtain a transcript of a recording for use as evidential material? Wondering where to start? Don’t worry – we speak to people in your position every single day – and we’ll be happy to help you too. Whether or not you choose to use our…