The Polly Peck/[name withheld] limitations on the defence of justification — requiring the defence to meet the sting of the imputations pleaded — apply equally to the defence of fair comment. A fair comment defence whose substance is substantially different from the plaintiff's pleaded imputations will be struck out. Where imputations allege ulterior motive, a comment going only to lack of business judgment does not meet the libel.
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