Sarah Smith is a well-known athlete specialising in archery who has won numerous Olympic gold medals for Great Britain. Two months ago, the Daily Delivery, a national newspaper, had the front page headline Shamed Sarah is Drugs Cheat!. This appeared alongside a large picture of Sarah, with the word Cheat superimposed.
Inside that days newspaper, it was reported that Sarah had failed a drugs test. This was technically true, although the substance detected potentially enhanced the stamina of long-distance runners, so would not have given Sarah any performance advantage. Further more, Sarah had been given permission by the relevant athletics federation to take the substance as it had been prescribed to treat a serious medical condition.
Terence, a Member of Parliament, saw the headline. Outraged, he tabled a question during Parliamentary proceedings that day, asking the Minister for Sport if the lying drugs cheat Sarah would be stripped of her gold medals?. This question was reported in the Parliamentary record Hansard.
The following day, a cartoon appeared in the Daily Delivery which was intended to show Sarah injecting herself with banned substances. However, the cartoonist confused Sarah with Sally Smith, an Olympic marathon runner.
Yasmin, a former athlete, saw the cartoon and assumed Sally had been found to have taken a banned substance. She immediately posted on social media Disgusted that Sally is a cheat. Not surprised though, I never liked her. 27 people viewed Yasmins post.
Sally recently moved to a large new house in a sought-after residential neighbourhood. She has become increasingly annoyed with her neighbour Zoe, who keeps Sally and her daughter Rebecca awake until late at night with loud noises from her garden shed. As Sally needs to train early in the morning this is particularly annoying as it means she struggles to get enough sleep.
When Sally complained to Zoe, Zoe told her Ive been making furniture for 20 years and you just moved in. You should mind your own business!
Sarah and Sally seek your advice on:
a. any potential claims in the tort of defamation.
Sally additionally seeks your advice on:
b. any potential claim against Zoe in nuisance.
