No. You only need to prove that the other party recklessly claimed it without evidence. The defence is the truth of the statement, or at least in its non-reckl

No. You only need to prove that the other party recklessly claimed it without evidence. The defence is the truth of the statement, or at least in its non-recklessness and that is provided by the party that is sued. The American approach on this clearly works. There's a recent US case of defamation some dead children with clearly excessive fines, but that's also in the other direction.