Simon Singh received a strong show of support at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, as he arrived to defend a libel action brought by the BCA. Nearly a hundred free speech activists turned out to wish the science writer well, including the Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris, and The Observer columnist Nick Cohen.

Singh is defending a column he wrote in The Guardian newspaper in 2008, criticising chiropractic treatments. This latest pre-trial hearing was convened to establish the disputed meaning of certain passages in the article, a dispute which has already taken over a year to resolve. Outside the court, Singh told reporters that he felt he had a duty to fight for what he believed, but warned that whatever the outcome of his hearing, he still had a long fight ahead.

Big names in UK comedy, science and politics come together on stage to tell us that England’s libel laws have become a dangerous joke.

The Big Libel Gig on Sunday 14 March 2010 at the London’s Palace Theatre will raise funds to support the Coalition for Libel Reform. An eclectic line-up, including Dara Ó Briain, Tim Minchin, Marcus Brigstocke, Robin Ince, Ed Byrne, Shappi Khorsandi, Professor Brian Cox, Simon Singh, Professor Richard Wiseman, Dr Peter Wilmshurst and Dr Ben Goldacre, is supporting the campaign for a public interest defence to protect writers, bloggers, academics, human rights activists and performers.

The Big Libel Gig is the brainchild of comedian Robin Ince - whose previous successes include the annual Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People shows and who will be hosting the evening – and Simon Singh, the science author and broadcaster, who will be talking frankly about the impact of libel fears on scientific debate.

Simon Singh, who is currently being sued by the British Chiropractic Association, said: “Peter Wilmshurst, Ben Goldacre and I will talk about being sued for libel. Peter is being sued for raising concerns about a heart device. He faces bankruptcy by coming up against our draconian libel laws. We are all put at risk if doctors and scientists are scared to speak out because of English libel laws.”

Stars of the show will tell the audience that England’s unjust libel laws are preventing free speech and open criticism of big corporations and