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The seemingly endless libel case brought by the British Chiropractic Association against Simon Singh reached a definitive and happy conclusion in London today. The UK’s libel laws are wacky — the burden of proof is on the accused. So when Singh tossed around words like “bogus” to describe the back-cracking pseudoscience of chiropractic, the BCA came after him, accusing him of slander. It cost Singh nearly two years, 200,000 GBP and a gig as a columnist to defend himself.

The decision today lets Singh use the defense of “fair comment” in appealing the libel suit. Seems like an obvious conclusion to me, but those of us in the USA shouldn’t be too quick about pointing out the absurdities or other legal systems.

Singh was clearly relieved and beaming, on what appears to be a lovely Spring day in the UK. (See video on the BBC site.) “It shouldn’t be so horrendously expensive for a journalist or an academic journal or a scientist to defend what they mean,” he said excitedly.

I am also excited, as I contributed to the whole cause in my own little way…. I was one of the early bloggers to rant on and on about this crime against rational thinking.

[The source for this news was a piece on the BBC web site, "Science writer Simon Singh wins libel appeal", April 1 2010]

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• Simon Singh wins libel court battle (guardian.co.uk)

More news from Simon Singh and libelreform.org’s continuing battle against nonsense in the UK, but this time it’s kinda fun. Singh and pals have organized a benefit featuring some of the UK’s top comedy talents, as well as some of the noble science geeks who are out to reform Britain’s ridiculous libel laws.

Readers of this site are well-aware of Singh’s “bogus journey” — he has been sued for libel simply for calling “shennanigans” on the practice of chiropractic. Follow the libelreform.org links for more outrageous examples of weird, anti-science lawsuits.

From the press release:

The Big Libel Gig on Sunday 14 March 2010 at the London’s Palace Theatre will raise funds to support the Coalition for Libel Reform. An eclectic line-up, including Dara Ó Briain, Tim Minchin, Marcus Brigstocke, Robin Ince, Ed Byrne, Shappi Khorsandi, Professor Brian Cox, Simon Singh, Professor Richard Wiseman, Dr Peter Wilmshurst and Dr Ben Goldacre, is supporting the campaign for a public interest defence to protect writers, bloggers, academics, human rights activists and performers.

The Big Libel Gig is the brainchild of comedian Robin Ince – whose previous successes include the annual Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People shows and who will be hosting the evening – and Simon Singh, the science author and broadcaster, who will be talking frankly about the impact of libel fears on scientific debate.

Simon Singh, who is currently being sued by the British Chiropractic Association, said: “Peter Wilmshurst, Ben Goldacre and I will talk about being sued for libel. Peter is being sued for raising concerns about a heart device. He faces bankruptcy by coming up against our draconian libel laws. We are all put at risk if doctors and scientists are scared to speak out because of English libel laws.”

Tickets go on sale today, so if you’re going to be in London, buy some by clicking here.

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• Video: Simon Singh on libel tourism and the ‘chilling effect’ on science journalism (blogs.journalism.co.uk)
• Danish scientist sued by drug firm under British libel laws to counterclaim (guardian.co.uk)