Right of a member of the public to respond to
a media statement. A statutory right of
reply, enforceable by a Press Commission, as
exists in many Western European countries,
failed to reach the statute book in the UK in
1989. There is no legal provision in the UK
that any correction should receive the same
prominence as the original statement and
legal aid is not available in defamation
cases, so that only the wealthy are able to
sue. However, the major newspapers signed a
Code of Practice in 1989 that promised some
public protection.