Back in the late 1980s when I was studying to be a journalist, my classmates and I were equipped with tools and skills that now seem like the quaint relics of a bygone age.

Along with typewriters and shorthand, we were also infused with the now-redundant notion that everybody in the UK had a right – and a reasonable expectation – not to be defamed in public prints.

The law, as it then stood in relation to libel and privacy, sought to ensure that everyone, no matter their means or status, was able to protect their reputation, while those guilty of wrongdoing could be exposed.

Those lofty ideals, it appears, have since been dumped on the spike of journalistic history along with hot metal, paperboys and passive smoking.

Two recent cases illustrate starkly how far we have moved since those days, and in an entirely wrong direction.

This week Brigitte Macron, the wife of the French President, filed a lawsuit against the right-wing podcaster Candace Ownes, over claims that she could be a man.

Meanwhile Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion (£7.5bn) defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones – parent company of The Wall Street Journal – and its owner Rupert Murdoch, over claims that he sent a "bawdy" birthday note to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Irrespective of what you think about the merits of such claims, it is unlikely either would have been brought had the plaintiffs not been financially well endowed.

French First Lady Brigitte Macron, seen here with husband Emmanuel Macron, has filed a lawsuit against the right-wing podcaster Candace Ownes over claims that she could be a man. (Image: PA)

While neither of the cases will be heard in........

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