FASCIST LEADER'S LIBEL SUIT

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21315, 7 November 1934, Page 11

FASCIST LEADER'S LIBEL SUIT

Claim Against London Newspaper COMPARISON WITH TOM MANN (UNITED I'BESS association—hy electeic TELEG ttAI'U—COPYRIGHT.) (Received November 6, 7.5 p.m.) LONDONj November 5. Much interest is being taken in Sir Oswald Mosley's libel claim against the newspaper, the "Star," which is being heard by the Chief Justice (Lord Hcwart) and a special jury. It arises from a public debate last year between Sir Oswald Mosley and Mr James Maxton (leader of the Independent Labour party), and the action is based on a section of a leading article which read: "Sir Oswald Mosley warned Mr Maxton that he and his Fascists would be ready to take over the Government with the aid of machine guns when the moment arrived. Tom Mann was recently thrown into prison on the mere suspicion that he might say something 10 times less provocative than Sir Oswald Mosley's words." The defence is that the words are substantially true and fair comment. Sir Patrick Hastings, for Sir Oswald Mosley, pleaded that the words meant that Sir Oswald Mosley was prepared to take over the Government by force and had said something worse than Mann had been imprisoned for.