ABSTRACT
In the course of his speech in Attorney General v. Guardian Newspapers and Others Lord Keith indicated that an individual’s right to have his confidences respected is an aspect of his right to personal privacy and that the law should protect that right to privacy when threatened by intrusion by the press. The problem of reconciling the public interest in free speech and a right of privacy has often been a matter of concern for those who have advocated the legal recognition of such a right. The defence to an action for breach of confidence of disclosure in the public interest provides a more accurate comparison with the proposed defence to infringement of the right of privacy. The defence to a breach of confidence action of publication in the public interest has usually been employed in cases where the confidential information concerns some iniquity.
