In blatant and callous disregard for the truth, Southall deliberately tried to deceive and mislead Ginnane AJA at the 2014 Court of Appeal over the visibility of the words that were found to be defamatory because of Southall’s grossly erroneous misrepresentations.
Southall tried to give the clear impression that the instant you opened the website, the words objected to were there and obvious:
Ginnane AJA: Was there any evidence, Mr Southall, as to how prominently the defamatory words were displayed on the website? I mean, were they the first thing you saw when you came onto the website, or were they on a link that you went to, or anything like that?
r Southall: No, no, they were directly on the website, Your Honour.
Ginnance AJA: So if you clicked onto this website, you would immediately see – – –
Southall: You’d see an article, you’d see words that included the words. It wasn’t just the words.
The reality is that generally the words were buried pages deep. It is interesting to note that Southall does admit that there were photos: “It wasn’t just the words” – the photos proved that the words were true, and that the words were therefore not defamatory – also proving that Southall knew that the photos revealed the truth in spite of Southall’s obfuscation.