Minister vows to stamp out scourge of ‘gagging laws’
A CRACKDOWN on oligarchs and powerful groups who use ‘ gagging’ laws to silence the Press has won ministerial support.
The Government is to adopt a backbench private members’ bill to combat ‘strategic lawsuits against public participation’ – or SLAPPs – which have been used to intimidate journalists and campaigners.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, writing exclusively in today’s Mail, vows to combat the ‘savage war on truth’ and ‘stamp out SLAPPs in whatever form they take’.
‘ The scourge of SLAPPs is spreading – from victims of sexual harassment silenced by their abuser, to landlords using heavyhanded tactics to gag tenants suffering with poor conditions in their homes,’ he says. SLAPPs are used as part of antagonistic legal action, dubbed ‘lawfare’, which is designed to prevent critics from speaking out against corruption and wrongdoing.
Compliant lawyers are hired to launch pernicious litigation, such as libel cases, which threaten critics with eye-watering costs and financial ruin.
The new Bill drawn up by Labour backbencher Wayne David will create a new dismissal mechanism to stop malicious claims as early as possible.
Claimants will be required to prove they are likely to succeed before a case goes to trial, and limits will be imposed on costs.
Mr Chalk announced yesterday that the Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Bill will be taken on board by the Ministry of Justice. It expands previous measures which addressed SLAPPs in economic crime.
Some of the most highprofile cases have involved Russian oligarchs and allies of Vladimir Putin, and often see SLAPPs launched bogus defamation and privacy grounds.
Mr David, MP for Caerphilly, said: ‘Well-heeled corrupt and malicious elites have been using SLAPPs to intimidate and threaten journalists, community campaigners, academics or anyone challenging them.’ Catherine
in Belton, who wrote the book Putin’s People, was sued by Roman Abramovich over claims of his close relationship with the Russian leader. Ms Belton and her publishers settled the defamation case but she later said she felt vindicated by the fact the former Chelsea FC owner had been sanctioned by the UK authorities.