Ryanair has indicated that it is ready to vigorously pursue legal proceedings for libel against a number of different defendants including Channel 4, the production company for ‘Dispatches’, Independent, Daily Mirror, Irish Independent and sacked Ryanair pilot, John Goss, following allegations that Ryanair’s fuel policy was a safety risk.
Following Channel 4’s Dispatches documentary the Daily Mail reported the story about concerns over Ryanair’s fuel policy. This prompted their name to appear in the list of names being sued by Ryanair but an out of court settlement was reached before the matter could proceed any further. Ryanair have viewed the settlement as a win and vindication of their name in this scandal.
How much can we actually read into this settlement?
A settlement in a legal case does not necessarily mean that the same decision would follow at trial. It is possible the Daily Mail did not think they had the evidence to support its claims and plead the defence of Justification (the truth defence). Alternatively, it could mean the Daily Mail took an economic view of the claim and settled before a long and drawn out legal battle ensued, saving the costs and effort of running the case to trial. Given that the Daily Mail’s involvement in the matter was repeating the claims raised by Channel 4’s Dispatches, it is likely to be a combination of both those reasons as they probably didn’t have access to the evidence that Channel 4 have. When Channel 4 is brought before the courts it is likely they will have far more evidence to support a defence of justification, fair comment or the public interest defence and a different outcome to the Daily Mail case is very possible.
Only time will tell whether there is more to this case but one thing is for certain; if there was merit to Channel 4’s Dispatches documentary then the fact they brought this to the attention of the pubic and safety authorities means any safety issues are likely to have been thoroughly resolved.
