Education Bill

I could not agree more with the noble Lord. It is a point that I would like to address. Who could imagine what would happen if rumour or innuendo, which turns out to be false, circulates at the school gate about a teacher. There may indeed have been an assault, but perhaps the wrong teacher has been accused in the diaspora of cyberspace, or perhaps, as the noble Baroness said earlier, two teachers have been named in allegations that have been pumping around parents. The only way for teachers to clear their names would be through responsible publication in a local newspaper. That would be in the public interest, and it would reflect the fact that the material is already, in effect, in the public domain because of digital media. If this law is not to become the same sort of fiasco as the super-injunctions, those defences need to be put in here. I believe that the proposed amendments to this clause will act as a vital pressure gauge and allow accurate and fair reporting where the public interest demands. They will also help some of the massive legal uncertainty that flows from the definition of publication which, by experience, the courts, particularly the magistrates' courts, are not good at dealing with. Often these issues are beyond their competence. These amendments also mirror exactly the terms of Section 12 of the Human Rights Act, which deals with interference in the European convention right to freedom of expression. That legislation directs a court to have particular regard to the extent to which, "““(i) the material has, or is about to, become available to the public; or""(ii) it is, or would be, in the public interest for the material to be published””." This legislation, which is a substantial incursion into the convention right, should have exactly the same defences as the Human Rights Act, especially as it is certified to be in accordance with the terms of the Act, and these amendments seek to secure that. Finally, one of the most critical of my noble friend’s amendments seeks to include civil courts and tribunals in the exemption in new Section 141F(10). I ask the Committee to imagine the following scenarios, if this legislation goes through. I know that my noble friend Lord Hill mentioned earlier that it was unlikely that teachers would ever sue for libel, but it might happen. A teacher might sue someone for libel in respect of an allegation relating to him or her that might have been uttered not by the local paper, because it cannot do that, but by somebody else at the school. Evidence in defence given by a pupil could not be published because it would identify the teacher. Indeed, it is impossible to see how the libel action could be reported anywhere because that would identify the teacher. An inquest where evidence of allegations identifying a teacher is given because it is relevant to the circumstances of the death of a pupil could not be reported. The inquest, or at least sections of it, could not be reported because it would identify the teacher. Employment tribunal proceedings involving allegations against a teacher, whether as a party or as a witness, could not be reported unless the amendment in the name of my noble friend Lord Phillips, which seeks to deal with that point, is accepted. Therefore, all those cases would be caught, and evidence suppressed, because a teacher might be identified. That would make a mockery of open justice and invite charges of cover-ups. I do not believe that is what the Government intend. These amendments are vital if we are not to usher in an age of secrecy where the cards are stacked heavily in favour of the teacher and against the child. I urge the Minister to take these amendments away and consider whether they can be incorporated in the legislation.