Geoffrey Bindman sheds some light on libel’s prince
of darkness
The stereotypical solicitor is a cautious, earnest and unobtrusive individual, a steady and reliable pillar of the community. The leading defamation practitioners were often cast in a different mould.
Peter Carter-Ruck on the surface fitted the conventional image. He looked the part. But beneath the urbane surface was a ruthless egotist. He was a formidable opponent. He particularly enjoyed suing Private Eye, who notoriously misspelt the second part of his surname.
Born in 1914, he was the most prominent libel lawyer in the country when I first acted for Private Eye in 1969. Following one of our early encounters he invited me for a drink at the Garrick. He seemed anxious to impress. He was a member of the Council of the Law Society and people talked of his Rolls-Royce and his country estate, the product of the enormous fees he demanded and usually got.
I soon discovered one of the ways he became rich. My usual response to claims against Private Eye which I knew were ultimately indefensible was
