A report that a person had given information to the officers of Excise against a distiller, and assumed the office of common informer in order to obtain half of the penalties awarded, was a ground for a claim in defamation. Lord Fullerton dealt with the argument that it could hardly be defamatory to say that a person had given information which had the effect of repressing an illegal act such as smuggling by saying ‘it may be perfectly legitimate to give information, but an informer is by no means a popular character’.
Judges:
Lord Fullerton
Citations:
(1851) 13 D 634
Scotland, Defamation
Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.517368