Libel and slander – Defamatory statement. The language of s 1 of the Defamation Act 2013 showed that it raised the threshold of seriousness and required that its application be determined by reference to the actual facts about its impact and not just to the implicit meaning of the words. The Supreme Court so held in dismissing the defendant newspapers appeal against a finding that newspaper articles had involved publication of defamatory statements which had caused, or had been likely to cause, serious harm to the claimant.