Daniels vs British Broadcasting Corporation

High Court holds that criticism of employee's performance was not defamatory.

In this case, a former employee brought defamation proceedings against the BBC as a result of comments made during a capability procedure that led to his dismissal.

The BBC applied to have the employee's claim struck out and the High Court granted the application. The court held that the criticism of Dr Daniels' performance in the capability procedure was not defamatory because it would not lead an ordinary, reasonable and sensible person to think less of him. Furthermore, the criticism was not capable of adversely reflecting on any business or professional reputation of Dr Daniels in the eyes of reasonable people (if indeed a person in his position could be said to have a relevant reputation for this purpose).