Day 177 - 26 Oct 95 - Page 34
1 he can and does read between the lines in the
2 light of his general knowledge and experience of
3 worldly affairs. I leave aside questions of
4 innuendo where the reader has some special
5 knowledge which might lead him to attribute a
6 meaning to the words not apparent to those who
7 do not have that knowledge."
8
9 Those may be important words in this case, since one
10 cannot, is not allowed to, envisage that somebody who is
11 reading this leaflet has any specialist knowledge about
12 nutrition whatsoever.
13
14 Then the next paragraph:
15
16 "What the ordinary man would infer without
17 special knowledge has generally been called the
18 natural and ordinary meaning of the words. But
19 that expression is rather misleading in that it
20 conceals the fact tht there are two elements in
21 it. Sometimes it is not necessary to go beyond
22 the words themselves, as where the plaintiff has
23 been called a thief or a murderer. But more
24 often the sting is not so much in the words
25 themselves as in what the ordinary man will
26 infer from them, and that is also regarded as
27 part of their natural and ordinary meaning."
28
29 Then I think I need only direct your Lordship's attention
30 to the passage on page 277 which was cited, I think, in
31 Skuse v. Granada TV, the beginning of the speech of
32 Lord Devlin, in the middle of the page, which I did in fact
33 read just a moment ago.
34
35 MR. MORRIS: 277?
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
38
39 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. The first paragraph in the speech of
40 Lord Devlin which, as I say, I read a moment ago.
41
42 Then, my Lord, Jones v. Skelton. I draw attention to it,
43 but I will not read it. It is a case in the Privy
44 Council. It is divider 3. I am not going to read this.
45 Then I will stop, because it is now ten to one. I will
46 just give your Lordship the reference. It is a case in the
47 Privy Council. In fact, despite the date on the report, it
48 came after Lewis v. Daily Telegraph. It was heard later.
49 The relevant passage is in page 1370, the second half of
50 the page, the paragraph beginning: "It is well settled".
51 It is all to the same effect.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Page 1370?
54
55 MR. RAMPTON: 1370, my Lord, yes; the second half of the page,
56 the passage beginning: "It is well settled" and ending
57 over the page, 1371, with the words "complained of in a
58 defamatory sense", in which Lewis is actually cited. That
59 advice by the Privy Council was given by Lord Morris, who
60 was one of the judges in the next case to which I shall
