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The promised revamp of the libel laws is now under way - with the Chair of the special parliamentary committee set up to scrutinise the Defamation Bill now chosen. He's the former Conservative Cabinet Minister Brian, now Lord, Mawhinney.

They'll be taking their first evidence, on April 27, from Lord Lester, the Lib Dem Peer who has campaigned endlessly against the "chilling effect" of the current laws. He could probably dictate serviceable bill to them off the top of his head.

The committee will trawl through such issues as a "public interest test" to justify the publication of potentially libellous information, how to make the defence of "fair comment" more workable as well as the much publicised problem of "libel tourism" - of foreigners suing in this country when they would not be able to sue in their own.

And they will also look at the ramifications for parliamentary privilege: Is there a case for reforming the Parliamentary Papers Act 1840 in the light of recent coverage of super-injunctions.

Parliamentary privilege is the legal protection which allows the press to report what happens in parliament. Or should that issue be left to the forthcoming Parliamentary Privilege Bill?

The members of the Committee are: Lord Bew, Crossbench; Lord Grade of Yarmouth, Conservative; Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, Labour; Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames, Liberal Democrat, Lord Mawhinney, Conservative, Lord Morris of Aberavon, Labour; Sir Peter Bottomley, Conservative; Rehman Chishti, Conservative; Christopher Evans, Labour; Julian Huppert, Liberal Democrat; David Lammy, Labour and Stephen Phillips, Conservative.

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