Law review to look at media gags

The Government is set to announce a review of libel law to make it harder for wealthy individuals to silence the media.

A study by the Law Commission will examine alleged abuses of the defamation laws, in particular the use of gagging writs and gagging letters.

Sources said the aim was to stop "rich people using their wealth to bully people into silence".

Experts will examine whether the use of gagging writs denies the right to freedom of speech enshrined in the new Human Rights Act.

There will also be a fresh look at the laws governing libel on the internet. The world wide web has made it easy for the British public to access libellous material published overseas, yet the last major reform of defamation laws, in 1996, took little account of the then new technology.

Critics of existing law cite cases like crooked publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, who used writs and injunctions to prevent journalists from investigating his business affairs. Last year's perjury conviction of Jeffrey Archer led to complaints it had been too easy for him to win damages of £500,000 from the Daily Star in his 1987 libel trial.

There have been calls for a reliable defence of public interest to protect newspapers which publish potentially libellous articles.