As any successful orator knows, there is nothing quite like ‘sexual shenanigans’ to liven up an otherwise dry, albeit erudite, presentation. Obiter was reminded of this during Mr Justice Eady’s address at the launch of City University’s new Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism. Eady galloped through the history of the law on freedom of speech – from Henry VIII, Thomas More and Erasmus, to supermodel Naomi Campbell. Modern libel and privacy laws, he said, were about balancing conflicting rights ‘by an intense focus on the facts of every individual case – because each case is made up of a unique combination of circumstances.’ He said it was impossible for our legislators to ‘dream up rules governing scenarios that have not yet happened’, and gave as an example a high-profile case of ‘sexual shenanigans’ involving a certain Max Mosley: ‘Anyone dreaming up that scenario should have been doing so in his own time,’ Eady quipped.