A Journalist Has Contacted You. Reputation Strategy.
When a journalist contacts you regarding allegations or an ongoing investigation, the threat to your reputation is immediate. The "right to reply" is often a trap designed to elicit a quotable denial or an admission that can be used to strengthen the story.
The Golden Rule: Do Not Engage Directly
Do not attempt to persuade the journalist of your innocence off the record. Do not issue an immediate denial without legal advice. Do not ignore the inquiry entirely if it signals an imminent publication.
Any interaction with the media must be managed through strategic legal counsel.
Legal Risks of Responding
If there is an active police investigation, making public statements can be highly prejudicial. It may alert investigators to your defence strategy prematurely, or lock you into an account of events that is later contradicted by evidence.
Pre-Publication Intervention
Our objective is often to prevent the story from running at all, or to significantly mitigate its impact. This may involve:
- Asserting Privacy Rights: Warning editors that publication breaches your reasonable expectation of privacy, particularly if you have not been formally charged with an offence.
- Defamation Warnings: Putting publishers on notice regarding the defamatory nature of the allegations.
- Drafting Strategic Statements: If publication is inevitable, preparing a carefully constructed statement that protects your legal position while mitigating reputational damage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we get an injunction to stop them publishing?
Obtaining a pre-publication injunction (prior restraint) is exceptionally difficult in the UK, particularly concerning matters the press argue are in the public interest. However, robust legal correspondence often achieves the same result by highlighting the legal risks the publisher will face if they proceed.
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Related Services
Reputation Protection
Strategic reputation protection during criminal investigations.
Private Defence
Strategic private criminal defence for professionals and business owners facing high-stakes allegations.
When Everything Is At Risk
Strategic defence when multiple risk vectors (criminal, regulatory and reputational) collide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Suggested Reading
Understanding Criminal Investigations: A Strategic Guide
The definitive guide to criminal defence in England and Wales for professionals. What to expect, how to protect yourself, and how strategic defence works.
Police Search Warrants: A Strategic Guide for Homes, Businesses and Professionals
A strategic guide to police search warrants in England and Wales: the powers behind a search, what can be seized, privileged and protected material, and why the period immediately after the search may be decisive.
When the Authorities Freeze or Seize Your Money or Property: A Strategic Guide to POCA
A strategic guide to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in England and Wales: cash seizure, Account Freezing Orders, restraint, confiscation and third-party property, and why identifying the precise power comes first.
The wider picture
What else could this affect?
An investigation rarely stays in one place. These are the areas that, depending on the facts, may also need to be considered.
Media interest
Some investigations attract press or online attention; how and when anything becomes public may need to be considered carefully.
Your reputation
An allegation, even one that is never charged, can create reputational exposure that benefits from a considered, strategic approach.
Your privacy
Protecting privacy, including who knows what and when, is often a central concern and can be planned from the outset.
Your family
Investigations place real pressure on families; managing the practical and emotional impact is part of a considered approach.
Your career
An allegation can raise longer-term career questions; early advice can help identify how to protect your position.
Before you act
The decision you may be facing next
People in your position often face one of these decisions before anything else. Each one is best made with advice, not under pressure.
Should I make a public statement?
Should I seek pre-charge representation now?
Discretion & reputation
Protecting your reputation and privacy
For public figures and politicians, media and reputation move fast, and legal and public-facing strategy should be coordinated from the outset.
Media interest
Some investigations attract press or online attention; how and when anything becomes public may need to be considered carefully.
Your reputation
An allegation, even one that is never charged, can create reputational exposure that benefits from a considered, strategic approach.
Your privacy
Protecting privacy, including who knows what and when, is often a central concern and can be planned from the outset.
Your family
Investigations place real pressure on families; managing the practical and emotional impact is part of a considered approach.
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Experience in the Most Serious Cases
From murder and terrorism to organised crime, large-scale conspiracies and cross-border investigations, Craig MacKenzie has extensive experience defending clients in the most serious and complex criminal cases. That experience shapes every decision, from the first police interview through to trial.
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Your case is led personally by Craig MacKenzie. You have direct access to your solicitor, with all key decisions, strategy and advice provided at partner level. Behind the scenes, Craig is supported by an experienced legal team to ensure your case is progressed efficiently without compromising on the quality of advice.
Do You Require Advice About Your Circumstances?
This material provides general information and is not a substitute for advice about a specific investigation or case.
Craig provides legal services exclusively through Forbes Solicitors. To make an initial enquiry, contact Craig at:
craig.mackenzie@forbessolicitors.co.uk
An enquiry does not constitute an instruction. Forbes Solicitors must confirm in writing that it has accepted the matter before any solicitor–client relationship arises.