Heather Rogers KC (3 June 1959 – 18 October 2023) was an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

known for her specialisation in

media law Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

. She died from a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain p ...

at age 64. Along with

Richard Rampton Richard Rampton KC (born 8 January 1941) is a British libel lawyer. He has been involved in several high-profile cases including ''Irving v. Penguin Books and Lipstadt'', where he defended Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Books against David Irving ...

, she represented

Deborah Lipstadt Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18, 1947) is an American historian, best known as author of the books ''Denying the Holocaust'' (1993), ''History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier'' (2005), ''The Eichmann Trial'' (2011), and ' ...

and her publisher

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include ''The Destruction of Dresden'' (19 ...

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

after Lipstadt said that Irving was a

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

in her book ''

Denying the Holocaust ''Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory'' is a 1993 book by the historian Deborah Lipstadt, in which the author discusses the Holocaust denial movement. Lipstadt named British writer David Irving as a Holocaust denier, l ...

'', in the case of ''

Irving v Penguin Books Ltd ''David Irving v Penguin Books and Deborah Lipstadt'' is a case in English law against American historian Deborah Lipstadt and her British publisher Penguin Books, filed in the High Court of Justice by the British author David Irving in 1996, ...

''.

Early life and education

Heather Rogers was born in 1959 in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

, United Kingdom to George Rogers, a carpenter and

construction worker A construction worker is a worker employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definition By some definitions, workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers; they may be sk ...

, and Olga Ingram, a secretary. She demonstrated academic proficiency early in her career and was educated at

Wolverhampton Girls' High School (Game Before the Prize) , established = 1911 , closed = , type = Grammar school;academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Trudi Young , r_head = , cha ...

. Later, Rogers furthered her studies at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, graduating in 1980 with a first-class

honors degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

in law (LLB). She was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1983, achieving a notably high score.

Career

Rogers' legal career was characterized by her involvement in major media law chambers. She began her career under the tutelage of

Geoffrey Robertson Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is a human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship.

KC at Dr Johnson's Buildings, an appointment that broke the traditional

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

recruitment trend. Her professional journey included roles at Robert Maxwell's ''

London Daily News The ''London Daily News'' was a short-lived London newspaper owned by Robert Maxwell. It was published from 24 February to 23 July 1987. History The ''London Daily News'' was intended to be a "24-hour" paper challenging the local dominance of t ...

'', 10 South Square, Matrix Chambers, Doughty Street Chambers, and 1 Brick Court. In 2019, Rogers rejoined

Doughty Street Chambers Doughty Street Chambers is a British set of barristers' chambers situated in Bristol, Manchester and London's Doughty Street, undertaking criminal justice, public law, immigration, employment, human rights and civil liberties work. Doughty Stre ...

to lead the media team. As a legal practitioner, Rogers held positions as a bencher of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

and a recorder in the south eastern circuit, focusing on

criminal case Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

s. She played a significant role in the development of the Defamation Bill, collaborating with

Lord Lester of Herne Hill Anthony Paul Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, QC (3 July 1936 – 8 August 2020) was a British barrister and member of the House of Lords. He was at different times a member of the Labour Party, Social Democratic Party and the Liberal D ...

, which led to the Defamation Act of 2013. This legislation introduced critical reforms, such as restricting libel claims by corporations and establishing a statutory defense for publications in the public interest. Throughout her career, Rogers was involved in several high-profile legal cases. She represented defendant publishers in notable lawsuits, including Spycatcher, ''Esther Rantzen vs. Mirror Group Newspapers'', and ''Elton John vs. MGN''. Her work in Derbyshire County Council v Times Newspapers set a precedent that government bodies cannot sue for libel. Additionally, Rogers represented claimants in significant cases, such as

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

's libel action against '' Vanity Fair''. Beyond her courtroom activities, Rogers was engaged in advocacy for free speech. She served as a trustee of Article 19 and was a director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information. Rogers also co-authored the legal textbook ''Duncan and Neill on Defamation''.

Personal life

Despite her professional accomplishments, Rogers maintained a connection to her working-class background. She was married to Julie Edwards, a television and film producer, and enjoyed the arts, theatre, music, and spending time in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Bibliography

* ''Duncan and Neill on Defamation'' (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Heather 1959 births 2023 deaths English barristers