Meghan Markle’s legacy from her privacy victory over a U.K. tabloid could be undermined due to a move by the Government to give freedom of speech “trump card” status.
The Duchess of Sussex sued The Mail on Sunday for breach of privacy and copyright after the newspaper printed substantial extracts from a letter she sent her father Thomas Markle.
After winning, in December 2021, she declared the case was “precedent setting,” suggesting the judge’s ruling had moved the dial for the rights of those taking on the media in Britain.
Meghan said in a statement at the time released to Newsweek: “This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right.
“While this win is precedent setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create.”
However, the first signs the U.K. government might not see the issue the same way came when the Prime Minister’s spokesman said in December that Boris Johnson believed in a free press, and that Downing Street would study the implications of the judgement carefully, as reported by The Independent.
Now, Dominic Raab, the justice secretary, has confirmed long-discussed plans to replace the Human Rights Act, under which Meghan brought the privacy aspect of her case, with a British Bill of Rights.
