He got off, he got off, he got off …

Simon Singh, victorious [source: BBC News]

Now with the obligatory Harry Potter-referencing title out of the way: the Simon Singh libel case, where the British science writer was sued by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) for (accurately) calling them peddlers of “bogus” medicine, is finally over – in Singh’s favor. We won!

On Thursday, the website of William McCormick QC, one of the barristers acting for Simon Singh, said the British Chiropractic Association has served a "Notice of Discontinuance". This means the case is now over.

Dr Singh said he was hugely relieved, but expressed his annoyance that libel actions continued to be used to block what he viewed as legitimate scientific inquiry and debate.

"Other scientists, science writers, bloggers, investigative journalists, human rights activists - all get threatened with these libel suits," he told BBC News. "And at the end of the day, the people who lose out are the general public because we don't get to find out the real truth because these libel suits just stop good journalism."

Dr Singh said he was still waiting to find out how the costs of the case would be borne. He said his defence had so far cost him in excess of £100,000.

And these litigious snake-oil salesmen had better pay him back every last damned cent.

However, Singh is certainly correct when he states that the battle for reforming the Draconian English libel laws still remains, and if anything, it must now be fought harder than ever. The Singh case was just one battle in the war, as is always the case, so we need to stay vigilant and keep pushing for change for these anti-free speech, anti-science libel laws. All they do is stifle skeptical inquiry and prevent actual skeptics and scientists from letting others know just what sort of pseudoscientific and pseudomedical bullshit is being peddled around, particularly when it comes to “Alternative Medicine” such as chiropractic, homeopathy, acupuncture, and anything else of the sort.

If you haven’t done so already, please visit the Libel Reform Campaign website and sign their petition. It would also be quite appreciated if you could also spare a dime to support their efforts.

(via @RichardDawkins)