Write briefly that fair comment on a matter of public interest is a good defence against an action for libel?

Fair comment on a matter of public interest is a good defence against an action for libel. Honest criticism ought to be, and is recognised in any civilised system of law as indispensable to the efficient working of any public institution or office. Although criticism of government and of public functionaries was not always so freely allowed as today, it is now fully recognised as one of the essential elements of freedom of speech which is not to be whittled down by legal refinement.