Where has Prince Andrew gone?

I agree that even George Orwell wouldn't have credited it. Free speech is dead.

Go on, admit it, you panicked.

gosh, I think my earlier post has been deleted.....George Orwell, you would understand the 21st century!!

Please see my reply on other post.

Thanks, when. I was beginning to think my fuzzy, cold filled brain had imagined it.

Just what I was thinking Ana, while I was listening to it.

Just been listening to a discussion on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2, in which much of the content of the GN thread was covered. I do think GNHQ has overreacted.

It was their terminology, Merlot

The deleted thread can still be found, saying:

Thread deleted
Message from GNHQ: Removed for legal reasons.

And although I said 'legal reasons' that might not have been their exact terminology. It was late and the thread disappeared while I was watching Foyle.

GNHQ said last night that if they deleted certain posts the thread wouldn't make sense so it would be better to delete the whole thing.

Legal isnt a topic they look at very often?

GNHQ you really ought to reply to our comments! It is all about transparency these days

Why didn't GNHQ simply delete the offending post - like wot they normally do?

Tegan any way you could tell us about that other forum, I'd be interested. Thanks.

What happened to freedom of speech? This is treading a fine line I think, and the Palace needs to think this through carefully before it starts attacking the British Public.

Our opinions should not be so abused! This is plain wrong.

So it is when there is a potential court case pending that things can get sticky for media outlets?
So people online talking idly about the everyday antics about celebs is not libelous. But talking about him could be?

On a closely related issue, what is the difference between something being untrue and something being categorically untrue?

Whenim indeed it does but I don't know if the US have similar laws.

Pettallus It is irrelevant who the alleged perpetrator of anything potentially likely to be a court issue is, idle media speculation about guilt or innocence is wrong.

As Absent says there are also libel laws to consider.

Look at the Daily Express and other papers who made all sorts of allegations about the neighbour of Joanna_Yeates the woman murdered in Bristol a few years ago.
The papers had to pay through the nose for that, and the innocent man involved suffered a great deal from these media driven false allegations.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Joanna_Yeates

We should also be concerned that lots of idle speculation in the media (including GNres hinting at innocence or guilt) could provide a legal loophole for defence barristers wanting to suggest that a suspect for whatever crime, could never get a fair trial because of well spread but unfounded rumours.

Anyone remember the paediatrician some years back who was targeted with abuse by a group of people, whipped up into a frenzy about paedophiles, who confused the concept of paediatrician with a paedophile?
I think some of that witch hunt was egged on by a tabloid newspaper!

Any widely spread speculation could easily act against the best interests of victims as well as the accused.

Whatever the court issue is we are supposed to ensure someone has a fair trial and that includes not listening media speculation or innuendo.

I would have thought the Government too.

But I saw a programme a couple of years ago about how much the Queen is worth.
Some of what she owns was described as priceless, so it got me thinking.

How can the Palace/anyone take action against newspapers for reporting news? So far as I can see, no one on the gransnet discussion or any of the press reports are suggested Andrew is guilty of anything. Well, anything other than being a poor judge of character and maintaining a friendship with a convicted sex offender that is. The evidence for that seems solid.

HM Government, surely? HM The Q is Head of State.

If the Government become involved it will be in support of the Palace surely.

No soon the royal family are hard up - they'll have to get legal aid.