Chelmsford hospital doctors lose defamation action against Steve Cannane & HarperCollins Australia

Journalist and successful defamation defendant Steve Cannane with his book 'Fair Game'
Journalist and successful defamation defendant Steve Cannane with his book ‘Fair Game’

Former psychiatrist John Herron and Dr John Gill have failed in their bid to sue journalist Steve Cannane and his publisher for a chapter he wrote in his book Fair Game: The incredible untold story of Scientology in Australia.

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Days 11 to 13 – Gill & Herron v HarperCollins & Cannane defamation trial

Days 11 to 13 – 15 to 17 June 2020 – Cross examination of Steve Cannane

Dr John Gill and former psychiatrist John Herron, who were involved in the deep sleep therapy and electroconvulsive therapy scandal at the Chelmsford Private Hospital in Sydney in the 1960s and 1970s, are suing HarperCollins Publishers Australia and ABC journalist Steve Cannane for defamation over a 28 page chapter of Cannane’s book Fair Game: The Incredible Untold Story of Scientology in Australia

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Day 10 – defence opens in Gill & Herron v HarperCollins & Cannane defamation trial

Day 10: 12 June 2020 – Defence opening address

Dr John Gill and former psychiatrist John Herron were involved in the deep sleep therapy scandal at the Chelmsford Private Hospital in Sydney that was the subject of a Royal Commission in 1989. Gill and Herron are suing HarperCollins Publishing Australia and ABC journalist Steve Cannane for defamation over a 28 page chapter of Cannane’s book Fair Game: The Incredible Untold Story of Scientology in Australia  Continue reading

Day 9 – Gill & Herron v HarperCollins & Cannane defamation trial

Fair-Game-CoverDay 9: 11 June 2020 – procedural argument to strike out s 29 defence of fair report of proceedings of public interest 

In 2016 HarperCollins Publishers Australia published a book authored by ABC journalist Steve Cannane, Fair Game: The Incredible Untold Story of Scientology in Australia. Cannane and the publishers are being sued for defamation by Dr John Gill and former psychiatrist John Herron. They were involved in the administration of deep sleep therapy and electroconvulsive therapy at the Chelmsford Private Hospital in Sydney in the 1970s. Continue reading