Richard is renowned as a leading specialist in defamation, privacy, and data protection law. His practice encompasses all aspects of media and communications law, including harassment by publication, copyright, contempt, and media-related contractual disputes.
Praise from Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for Richard’s defamation, privacy and data protection work includes:
- “Exceptional on paper and in court”
- “Absolutely top junior – both on legal issues and strategy”
- “My first choice when it comes to this sort of work because he is incredibly user-friendly”
- “Excellent analytical and drafting skills, impressive experience for his seniority, good with clients, and a pleasure to deal with all round”
- “Respected by clients and the media industry in general”
- “Very practical, commercially focused and easy to deal with”
- “Incredibly personable and user-friendly”
- “Clear and commercial in his approach, and always provides spot-on advice”
- “Brilliant attention to detail”
- “Tenacious with impressive attention to detail”
- “A great person to have on your side – very clear and has great judgement”
A recent Who’s Who Legal named Richard as one of the two most highly regarded juniors practising in defamation and privacy law, describing him as “superb” and “one of the standout juniors in the area, consistently impressing clients by ‘always going above and beyond when instructed’ and delivering results thanks to his ‘technical expertise, responsiveness and commercial approach’”.
Richard is a member of the Media and Communications List Users Group Committee (whose judicial members include Mr Justice Nicklin and Senior Master Fontaine), which worked on the new Pre-Action Protocol and Practice Direction for the Media and Communications List, and which works to improve practice and procedure in claims for defamation, privacy, data protection and harassment by publication.
He is a contributing author to the leading professional texts on the Defamation Act 2013, privacy and misuse of private information, and reporting restrictions and contempt of court.
Richard is hugely experienced in defamation claims, for both claimants and defendants. Libel and slander claims in which he has acted include:
- acting for Wayne Rooney and HarperCollins Publishers in the libel claim brought against them by Rooney’s former manager David Moyes;
- Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman v ARY Network Ltd, a libel claim relating to 25 television broadcasts, securing £185k damages and the first ever publication order under s.12 of the Defamation Act 2013;
- Dar Al Arkan & Anor v Al Refai & Ors, a complex US$500m claim in the Commercial Court for libel, malicious falsehood, breach of confidence, conspiracy and various foreign law claims, involving a freezing injunction and numerous interlocutory orders;
- acting for JK Rowling in her libel claim against the publishers of the Daily Mail, obtaining permission to make a disputed unilateral statement in open court following an offer of amends;
- acting for Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s opposition leader, in a libel claim over an article in the Mail on Sunday accusing him of embezzlement and money laundering;
- a number of claims overlapping with unfair dismissal and Employment Tribunal claims, including Parris v Ajayi and Kostakopolou v University of Warwick;
- Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco v Elaph, acting for the 3rd in line to the Moroccan throne in respect of allegations of disloyal and underhand plotting against his King (including succeeding in the Court of Appeal on defamatory meaning);
- acting for former Conservative Party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas in his successful libel and malicious falsehood claim against the Sunday Times;
- successfully striking out claims brought by a family in relation to their exclusion from Exeter Mosque, on the basis of ‘reply to attack’ and duty-interest qualified privilege, in Abdulrazaq v Hassan;
- obtaining substantial damages for a number of professional footballers falsely accused of involvement in match-fixing;
- acting for Amazon in successfully striking out a claim brought by an author over user comments in a discussion forum;
- successfully obtaining damages and apologies from The Spectator and Melanie Phillips over an article libelling the President of the British Muslim Initiative, and from the same magazine for Islam Expo Ltd;
- obtaining an award of substantial damages and injunction for Professor AC Grayling in a libel claim over false allegations on Twitter;
- acting for the defendants in My Distance Learning College v NCFE, a complex libel, malicious falsehood and breach of contract claim valued at more than £5.5million;
- Mond v Mason, a successful claim for libel, malicious falsehood and causing loss by unlawful means by a group of accountancy firms involving numerous interlocutory applications;
- acting for Liverpool FC footballer Harry Kewell in his libel claim against Gary Lineker and the Telegraph;
- acting for boxing promoter Frank Warren in his successful libel claim against boxer Herbie Hide;
- acting for dressage trainer Andrew Gould in relation to claims about his relationship with Katie Price; and
- advising the charity Shelter in relation to a threatened claim over a report into rogue landlords.
The many privacy and confidentiality matters Richard has acted in have included:
- acting for numerous celebrities, sportsmen, businesses and individuals in respect of the publication of private and confidential information online and in newspapers and magazines;
- acting in the leading decisions on privacy and freedom of expression, Von Hannover v Germany (No 2) and Axel Springer v Germany in the European Court of Human Rights, for the Media Legal Defence Initiative, the International Press Institute, and The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers;
- acting for Mirror Group Newspapers in the on-going phone hacking litigation, relating to hundreds of claims from celebrities and others in respect of phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering activities. This has raised numerous complex issues, in particular as to the protection of journalistic sources, legal professional privilege, disclosure, and Part 36 offers, as well as privacy issues more generally;
- acting for Ian Edmondson, former News of the World Assistant Editor, in the News Group phone hacking litigation and at the Leveson Inquiry;
- acting for former boxer Ricky Hatton in respect of photographs and articles about his private life;
- obtaining injunctions against Google and Facebook in respect of private and confidential information published online; and
- acting for a child rape victim indirectly identified in a local newspaper.
Data protection is a significant part of Richard’s practice. Matters on which he has acted include:
- the landmark case of Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco v Elaph, before both the High Court and Court of Appeal, on bringing claims for inaccurate personal data alongside libel;
- advising Cheryl Fernandez-Versini in respect of inaccurate sensitive personal data published online;
- advising a number of organisations, including the Bar Standards Board, on their obligations under the DPA, GDPR, PECR and ePrivacy Directive;
- various data breach claims, acting for both data subjects and controllers;
- claims relating to operators of databases provided for Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Client purposes, including ‘Politically Exposed Persons’;
- ‘right to be forgotten’/right to erasure requests and applications to Google and the ICO (Richard led the seminar on the implications of the Google Spain ‘Right to be forgotten’ judgment at Conference5RB);
- subject access requests under the DPA and GDPR, advising individuals and organisations;
- successfully defending a police force in a DPA and HRA claim in respect of an Enhanced Criminal Record Certificate; and
- acting for music festival organisers in respect of a substantial ICO monetary penalty.
Richard also has great experience of making and resisting applications for injunctions in harassment in cases relating to actual or threatened publication, online or offline, including:
- SPA v TAS, obtaining an injunction against a former employee spreading damaging allegations online;
- successfully resisting a claim for an injunction brought by actor and author David Walliams and his ex-wife against a well known photography agency;
- McNally v Saunders, successfully striking out a harassment claim brought by a local government officer over repeated blogs critical of her (‘The Sandwell Skidder’);
- Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman v ARY, in respect of a campaign of vilification carried out on television, raising jurisdiction issues;
- obtaining injunctions and damages for a businessman, the subject of an anonymity order, in respect of a vicious campaign of vilification by leaflet, post and email;
- acting for a photographer sued for harassment by One Direction singer Harry Styles;
- acting for organisations, including a well-known healthcare provider and a betting exchange, to obtain anti-harassment injunctions to protect their employees and clients; and
- acting for a well-known author whose emails were hacked and who was harassed and impersonated on social media, obtaining undertakings which ultimately led to the harasser’s imprisonment.
Richard has also advised and acted on various copyright matters relating to the music, television and publishing industries, including:
- acting for Aston “Family Man” Barrett (Bob Marley & The Wailers) against Universal-Island Records in his claim for songwriting credits and royalties on well-known Marley recordings;
- for Associated Newspapers in a privacy and copyright claim brought by singer Lily Allen;
- for the claimants in Dar Al Arkan & Anor v Al Refai & Ors, in respect of stolen and copied documents appearing on a website;
- for Manchester United FC in respect of misuse of a confidential database;
- for Uri Geller in respect of footage broadcast by a national broadcaster;
- for the estate of J.R.Tolkien in respect of unlicensed imitations of the “One Ring” from the Lord of the Rings trilogy;
- providing pre-publication copyright advice to broadcasters, newspapers and publishers, in particular on fair dealing issues.
- Before joining 5RB, Richard was a Research Associate at the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre.
In addition to the contractual elements in several of the claims referred to above, Richard has been involved in claims over music management contracts, publishing disputes and a claim relating to a series of popular music documentary films.
He has also acted in professional negligence matters relating to media and entertainment law.
In addition to litigation, Richard provides pre-publication advice on libel, contempt, copyright and other legal issues to national newspapers, broadcasters, and book publishers.
Scholarships
Pegasus Scholar 2007: Richard spent three months working in the media department of solicitors Mallesons Stephen Jaques in Sydney, marshalling at the New South Wales Supreme Court, and in-house at publishers Fairfax Media.
Levitt Scholar, Lord Denning Scholar, and Hardwicke Scholar of Lincoln’s Inn
Called
2003 Called to the Bar of England and Wales
Education
University of Warwick, LLB (1st Class Honours) - 1997 - 2001
University of Oxford (St Peter's College), BCL - 2001-2002
Areas of work
Defamation and Malicious Falsehood
Privacy and Confidence
Data Protection and Information Law
Harassment
Injunctive Relief
Intellectual Property
Reporting the Courts and Contempt
Pre-publication Advice
Memberships
Bar Pro Bono Unit
Human Rights Lawyers Association
Featured cases
Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Co v Al Refai
[2013] EWHC 1630 (Comm) 12/06/2013
Murray v Associated Newspapers Ltd
[2014] EWHC 1170 (QB) 15/04/2014
His Highness Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdullah Al Alaoui of Morocco v Elaph Publishing Limited
[2015] EWHC 2021 (QB) 16/07/2015
von Hannover v Germany (No. 2)
(2012) 55 E.H.R.R. 15 07/02/2012
Mir Shakil-Ur-Rahman v ARY Network Limited & Fayaz Ghafoor
[2015] EWHC 2917 (QB) 27/11/2015
All cases
Defamation and Malicious Falsehood
Abdulrazaq v Hassan & Ors
[2021] EWHC 3252 (QB) 03/12/2021
Sahota v Middlesex Broadcasting Corporation Ltd & Ors
[2021] EWHC 504 (QB) 05/03/2021
Parris v Ajayi & Ors
[2021] EWHC 285 (QB) 12/02/2021
Sadik v Sadik
[2019] EWHC 2717 (QB), [2020] E.M.L.R. 7 16/10/2019
Mir Shakil-Ur-Rahman v ARY Network Limited & Fayaz Ghafoor
[2015] EWHC 2917 (QB) 27/11/2015
His Highness Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdullah Al Alaoui of Morocco v Elaph Publishing Limited
[2015] EWHC 2021 (QB) 16/07/2015
Associated Newspapers v Murray
[2015] EWCA Civ 488 15/05/2015
Murray v Associated Newspapers Ltd
[2014] EWHC 1170 (QB) 15/04/2014
Jackson v Universal Music Operations Ltd
06/02/2014
Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Co v Al Refai
[2013] EWHC 1630 (Comm) 12/06/2013
Smith v Dha
[2013] EWHC 838 (QB) 12/04/2013
Wright v Caan
[2011] EWHC 1978 (QB) 27/07/2011
Bowker v RSPB
[2011] EWHC 737 (QB) 25/03/2011
Woodbridge v Stapleton
Unreported, 20 January 2011 20/01/2011
Ifedha v Archant Regional Ltd
[2010] EWHC 2819 (QB) 08/11/2010
Islam Expo Ltd v The Spectator (1828) Ltd & Pollard
[2010] EWHC 2011 (QB) 30/07/2010
North London Central Mosque Trust v Policy Exchange & Anor
[2009] EWHC 3311 (QB) 26/11/2009
Noorani v Calver (No 2 Costs)
[2009] EWHC 592 (QB) 25/03/2009
Noorani v Calver (No 1)
[2009] EWHC 561 (QB) 17/03/2009
Hughes v Alan Dick & Co Ltd
[2008] EWHC 2695 (QB) 23/10/2008
Mond & Ors v Mason & Ors
[2008] EWHC 1649 (QB) 24/06/2008
SD Marine Ltd v Powell
[2006] EWHC 3095 (QB) 06/12/2006
Hussein v William Hill
[2006] EWHC 25 (QB) 20/01/2006
Privacy and Confidence
von Hannover v Germany (No. 2)
(2012) 55 E.H.R.R. 15 07/02/2012
Axel Springer AG v Germany
Application No.39954/08 07/02/2012
Reporting the Courts and Contempt
R v Swansea Crown Court, ex parte BBC
T20077088 22/01/2008
Injunctive Relief
Mond & Ors v Mason & Ors
[2008] EWHC 1649 (QB) 24/06/2008
Intellectual Property
Barrett v Universal-Island Records & Others
[2006] EWHC 1009 (Ch); [2006] EMLR 567 15/05/2006
Data Protection and Information Law
His Highness Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdullah Al Alaoui of Morocco v Elaph Publishing Limited
[2015] EWHC 2021 (QB) 16/07/2015
General Common Law
Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Co v Al Refai
[2013] EWHC 1630 (Comm) 12/06/2013
Mond & Ors v Mason & Ors
[2008] EWHC 1649 (QB) 24/06/2008
Barrett v Universal-Island Records & Others
[2006] EWHC 1009 (Ch); [2006] EMLR 567 15/05/2006
5RB Talks
5RB Talks: Manchester
15 May 2015
With Jonathan Barnes KC, Richard Munden, Chloe Strong & Adrienne Page KC
Publications
The Law of Privacy and the Media 3rd Edition
OUP
By Richard Munden. 22 Jan 2016
Blackstone's Guide to the Defamation Act 2013
Oxford University Press
By Richard Munden. 19 Sep 2013
Tugendhat & Christie: The Law of Privacy and the Media, Second Edition
Oxford University Press
By Richard Munden. 17 Mar 2011
Borrie & Lowe: The Law of Contempt
LexisNexis
By Richard Munden. 1 Oct 2010
In 5RB News
17 Oct 2024
5RB in Chambers & Partners 2025
9 Feb 2024
Indemnity costs after Mirror hacking trial
15 Dec 2023
Judgment in Mirror phone hacking trial
20 Oct 2023
5RB tops rankings in Chambers & Partners
5 Oct 2023
5RB named Tier 1 set in Defamation and privacy by The Legal 500
21 Jul 2023
GEO TV seeks summary judgment
Statutory reporting privilege claimed
9 May 2023
Phone hacking trial to begin
28 Feb 2023
Arron Banks wins Cadwalladr TED Talk appeal
Brexit businessman succeeds on serious harm appeal
3 Jan 2023
5RB cases dominate Spear’s reputation cases roundup 2022
7 Oct 2022
5RB named top set by The Legal 500
Directory rankings also released
4 Oct 2022
Apology to John Ware
Statement in open court
18 Mar 2020
5RB members praised in Who’s Who Legal 2020
Five 5RB silks and 11 5RB juniors commended in Who's Who Legal Marketplace Analysis 2020
15 Jan 2020
Rare defamation decision in Chancery Division
Chancery Chief Master denies Claimants’ amendment to a defamation claim and Defendants’ application for trial of preliminary issue
18 Jul 2018
Sir Cliff Richard wins privacy claim against BBC
Judge awards singer £210,000 damages for misuse of private information
27 Jun 2018
Mail apologises to Earl Spencer
Statement in open court read after settlement of libel claim over false Diana allegation
6 Feb 2018
5RB ‘stands above the competition’
Leaders and juniors praised in new edition of Who's Who Legal
11 Jan 2018
Katie Hopkins refused permission to appeal
Sharp LJ refuses PTA against decision of Warby J; also refuses permission in Guise v Shah
2 Nov 2017
“The pre-eminent set”: Chambers UK
5RB and members recommended for Defamation & Privacy and Data Protection in 2018 Chambers UK Bar Guide
11 Oct 2017
5RB ‘dominates the field’ in Legal 500
Chambers and members recommended for Defamation & Privacy, Data Protection, and Media and Entertainment work in legal directory
31 Jul 2017
Supreme Court refuses permission in DPA/libel claim
Defendant Elaph refused permission to appeal CA decision allowing Moroccan Prince to pursue DPA claim and restoring defamatory meanings
6 Jul 2017
Consultant wins Dental CPD dispute
Dr Andrew Guise awarded £28k in libel & harassment damages
27 Jan 2017
Prince wins libel and DPA appeals
Court of Appeal rules adding DPA inaccuracy claim to libel claim permissible; also finds for Prince on defamatory meaning
16 Dec 2016
First order made under s.12 of the Defamation Act 2013
ARY News broadcaster ordered to broadcast summary of High Court's judgment
2 Dec 2016
Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman awarded £185k libel damages
Media group chairman wins libel claim against ARY News broadcaster over 'traitor' allegations; but loses harassment claim
17 Nov 2016
29 phone hacking claims settle
Statements in open court read in claims against Mirror Group Newspapers
22 Jan 2016
New edition of The Law of Privacy and the Media published
Read an extract on Privacy, the Internet and Social Media
23 Jul 2015
Permission granted to add data protection claim
Moroccan Prince partially successful in application for permission to amend libel claim against UK-based Arab news website
18 May 2015
Mail loses JK Rowling appeal
'Harry Potter' author permitted to read statement in open court following libel settlement, including disputed reference to dishonesty
5 May 2015
5RB Talks: Manchester
5RB's Jonathan Barnes, Richard Munden and Chloe Strong spoke
31 Oct 2014
5RB tops Chambers & Partners 2015
Set and 19 barristers recommended in UK Bar Guide
19 Sep 2013
Blackstone’s Guide to the Defamation Act 2013 published
Guide to the new Act out now
31 Oct 2012
5RB Sponsors National Pro Bono Centre
Chambers continues support for Pro Bono work as Bronze Sponsor
7 Feb 2012
Media victorious in Strasbourg
Grand Chamber rejects Princess Caroline privacy claim; upholds newspaper anonymity complaint
28 Oct 2011
5RB tops Chambers and Partners 2012
Adam Wolanski wins Defamation and Privacy Junior Barrister of the Year
27 Sep 2011
‘Truly experts’
The Legal 500 review 2012
20 May 2011
Phone hacking test cases chosen
Five lead and five reserve lead cases to go forward
15 Apr 2011
Phone hacking ‘test’ cases to be tried
Vos J orders parties to identify 4 or 5 cases to go forward to determine common issues in News of the World claims
1 Apr 2011
BBC air series on media law
'See You in Court' documentary series on libel and privacy cases shown on BBC1
17 Mar 2011
New edition of privacy book published
Second edition of Tugendhat & Christie: The Law of Privacy and the Media published
25 Nov 2010
Melanie Phillips apologises for libel
Writer and Spectator apologise to Mohammed Sawalha for alleging that he made anti-Semitic statement, pay damages and costs
5 Nov 2010
5RB tops directory ranking
Chambers & Partners 2011 edition praises set
29 Oct 2010
New edition of Borrie & Lowe
Fourth edition of book on the law of contempt published by LexisNexis
28 Aug 2010
Spectator apologises for IslamExpo libel
Publisher and author apologise and pay damages and costs to Islamic exhibition company
21 Apr 2010
Mosque Trust granted permission to appeal
Permission granted to charity to appeal strike out ruling on capacity in libel claim over Policy Exchange 'extremist literature' report
24 Sep 2009
5RB’s juniors: the Legal 500 verdict
What the legal directory had to say about 5RB's junior barristers
27 Jul 2009
Frank Warren wins libel damages
Boxing promoter awarded £35,000 over allegations made by boxer Herbie Hide
23 Mar 2009
Liverpool libel trial collapses
Indemnity costs after claimant discontinues claim over malicious telephone calls
24 Nov 2008
Accountant wins ‘IVA Council’ claim
Insolvency practitioner obtains apology and damages over mis-selling allegations
31 Jul 2008
George Galloway wins libel damages
Respect Party MP awarded £15,000 for radio station's anti-Semitic slur
6 Jun 2008
Job seeker wins Express apology
Mother-of-five accepts libel damages, apology over 'scrounger' slur
3 Jun 2008
Rooney book libel case settles
Everton manager accepts apology and damages over 'leak' allegations
16 Mar 2006
Wailers royalties battle begins
Bob Marley's bass guitarist brings claim against Island Records
4 Oct 2004
5RB Welcomes New Tenants & Pupils
Richard Munden and David Hirst join 5RB
Contact
Email: clerks@5rb.com
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