The Defamation Bill passed its third and final reading in the Lords today. However amendments to bring in elements of Lord Justice Leveson's press recommendations have now put the bill in danger. The most controversial amendment for a statutory regulator was dropped, but the Government is reported to be considering dropping the bill entirely if agreement can not be reached.

Pirate Party Justice spokesperson Loz Kaye said:

"Libel reform is much needed in English law. The current situation is having a chilling effect on freedom of speech. It can not be right that writers like Simon Singh risk losing everything just for speaking out. The Pirate Party doesn't think the proposals are perfect, but in particular moves to level the playing field between citizens and large corporations are a step forward.

Former NHS service manager Gary Walker spoke out to the BBC claiming he was gagged by the NHS from raising concerns about patient safety. He explained that he felt pressured in to signing a "super gag" agreement because he was afraid of losing his house. It was revealed on the Today programme that this gagging order was also extended to his family. Loz Kaye commented on the situation:

"It is utterly unacceptable that Gary Walker felt forced in to signing away his right to speak up for patients. We should be encouraging people to speak their mind, not ignoring problems. There is no place for 'super-gags' in the NHS, or in any part of our public life."

"Removing the barriers and threats to free speech that have been put in place over the last decade is something that is long overdue and it is important that we take action. When a person can be jailed for light-hearted comments on social media it should be clear to that the law itself is broken . It seems that police and prosecutors have been unable or unwilling to use common sense to decide when to proceed with legal action and the scale of the problem is growing."

BPI Legal action

The proxy server the Pirate Party UK initially provided in solidarity with other parties in Europe, but later as an anti-censorship resource for UK users, has now been been removed. Loz Kaye made the following statement:

Elected members of the party's National Executive Committee, along with the head of IT, received letters from lawyers acting for British Phonographic Industry (BPI), threatening them personally with High Court legal action.

The Pirate Party UK can confirm that 6 members of the party have received letters from a solicitors firm acting on behalf of the BPI threatening legal action. Leader Loz Kaye has been singled out, along with the 4 other members of the National Executive and the party's head of IT.

Pirate Party Leader Loz Kaye said:

"We had been anticipating legal action ever since I received an email from Geoff Taylor of the BPI. What has taken me aback is that this threat is personally directed. I simply can not see what the music industry think can be positively gained by threatening to bankrupt me and other party officers. Throughout, the party and I have been open to dialogue. Contrary to reports I offered to meet Geoff Taylor for discussion, but this has been rebuffed, at this point we are talking our legal advisers and will respond to ...

Imagine a world in which your every journey was logged by time and place, where the newsagents kept records for the government of what papers you bought, where the library logged what books you read, where the pub landlord made a note of who came in, who spoke to whom, and the topics of each conversation.

This legislation isn't just intrusive and creepy - it has some very real impacts on freedom of association, on the right to privacy of your political opinions and movements, on the very foundations of our democracy. If the government knows exactly what you read and when, you may as well throw out the secret ballot!

Loz Kaye commented on reports that ISPs have been told that they no longer have to block The Promo Bay (a promotion tool for artists). This was following pressure put on music industry body the BPI.:

"The lifting of the Promo Bay block vindicates everything the Pirate Party has said on site blocking all along."

There ought to be no question of the BPI, or any other organisation, getting to decide what should be seen on the net and what should not. The Promo Bay fiasco clearly shows that the music industry cannot be trusted with censorship powers. There can now be no question of any other blocks on sites or proxies. It is time to resolve the whole issue of web blocking."

Loz Kaye made the following statement regarding Promo Bay:

"The conflicting reports around access to Promo Bay in the UK show how vital it is to have transparency about court decisions and how they are carried out. It also shows how volatile public opinion is about the issue of web censorship. Politicians and companies need to start to understand that."

Loz Kaye issued the following statement regarding the reports that the BPI had sent the Pirate Party UK a letter demanding the closure of the Pirate Party UK Pirate Bay Proxy:

Late this afternoon I received an email from Geoff Taylor at the BPI indicating that a letter had been sent to the Pirate Party, as well as an electronic copy of that letter which refers to our provision of a Pirate Bay Proxy. We have not yet received the letter by post.

As this letter seems to have been made available to the press, I would like to make it clear that we will respond to the BPI by the 6th of December as requested by Mr Taylor, as well as informing our members of the letter, its contents and our response.

Pirate Party UK Leader Loz Kaye made the following statement in response to reports that Richard O'Dwyer has struck a deal with US authorities to avoid extradition:

"This decision vindicates the Pirate Party's view that the extradition request was disproportionate and unnecessary all along. It does not remove the underlying problem though. The US can not be allowed to be the copyright cops of the world. I hope that Richard and Julia O'Dwyer will be able to begin to rebuild their