Peter Frederick Carter-Ruck (26 February 1914 – 19 December 2003) was an English
solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
, specialising in
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 defi ...
cases. The firm he founded,
Carter-Ruck, is still practising.
Biography
Personal life
Carter-Ruck was educated at
St Edward's School, Oxford
St Edward's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Oxford, England. It is known informally as 'Teddies'.
Approximately sixty pupils live in each of its thirteen houses. The school is a member of the Rugby G ...
. He spent three months in Germany during the 1930s, observing the rising popularity of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
and attending a rally in
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
. Upon his return, he trained and qualified as a solicitor.
His daughter Julie Scott-Bayfield is also a libel lawyer.
Career
Carter-Ruck's first major case was defending the ''
Bolton Evening News'' successfully against a libel action brought by the
Labour MP Bessie Braddock
Elizabeth Margaret Braddock (née Bamber; 24 September 1899 – 13 November 1970) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Liverpool Exchange division from 1945 to 1970. She was a ...
, who, the paper had claimed, had danced a jig in Parliament.
In December 1995, Carter-Ruck acted for the
royal
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a ...
nanny
A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
Tiggy Legge-Bourke
Alexandra Shân "Tiggy" Pettifer (née Legge-Bourke; born 1 April 1965) is a British former nanny and companion to Prince William and Prince Harry. She was a personal assistant to Charles III (then Prince of Wales) from 1993 to 1999. She has ...
in the matter of an allegation against her by
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
, that she had aborted
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
's child.
Criticism
In 1980, the ''
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...
'' editor
Derek Jameson was advised by Carter-Ruck that if he sued the
BBC over their portrayal of him in a ''
Week Ending
''Week Ending'' was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1970 and 1998. It was devised by writer-producers Simon Brett and David Hatch and was originally hosted by '' Nationwide'' presenter Michael B ...
'' sketch, he would win at least £25,000 in damages. The
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 givin ...
in the case,
David Eady QC, however advised Carter-Ruck to accept the BBC's
offer to settle for £10 plus
costs
In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in whic ...
. Carter-Ruck did not disclose this advice to his client. The
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Juries developed in England d ...
found the broadcast defamatory, but also fair comment and Jameson had to pay costs, receiving a bill for £41,342.50 from Carter-Ruck. Jameson learned by chance of the QC's advice and Carter-Ruck's former partner David Hooper claimed that "Carter-Ruck told him a string of lies". Carter-Ruck later claimed that he did not want to undermine Jameson's morale in court.
References
External links
'The Carter-Ruck chill' ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' comment, December 2003
Peter Carter-Ruck obituary ''
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'', 22 December 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter-Ruck, Peter
1914 births
2003 deaths
People educated at St Edward's School, Oxford
English solicitors
20th-century English lawyers
People from Steyning