The UK‘s first libel action arising from comments made via Twitter has resulted in a payment of £3,000 in damages and reportedly around £50,000 in legal costs when a councillor used twitter to make libellous claims about a political rival. It is thought that this is the first case in the UK regarding libel using Twitter and is a reminder to all those working in universities and colleges on the potential dangers of using social network sites to broadcast (often unintentionally) what may be construed to be a defamatory statement.