Raab’s crackdown on Putin cronies muzzling our Press

Courts are to be given new powers to stop cronies of russian leader Vladimir Putin ‘with dirty money lining their pockets’ silencing the Press.

Justice secretary Dominic raab will set out a range of reforms today to stop libel and privacy laws being used to muzzle journalists trying to expose suspicious activities by the mega-rich and elites linked to Putin.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘our message to Putin’s cronies with dirty money lining their pockets and blood on their hands is simple – we won’t let you hide in the shadows any longer.’

under the plans, courts will be able to throw out baseless claims from bullying russian oligarchs more quickly and there will be a cap on costs to prevent expensive litigation being used ‘as a weapon to silence critics’.

It comes after a disturbing rise in the use of ‘slapps’ – strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation – where the wealthy launch baseless lengthy legal procedures to silence journalists, authors, campaigners and watchdogs. Publishers can feel intimidated by ‘eyewatering’ legal bills running into millions of pounds and are forced to retract revelations about ‘murky dealings’ for fear of financial ruin – even though they are true.

But in a victory for freedom of speech, Mr raab plans to empower courts to strike out malicious lawsuits by requiring judges to consider whether claims are in the public interest – for example if a journalist is investigating financial misconduct. Judges will then check if there is abuse of process and if the case has merit. Costs will be capped to protect journalists from being ‘sued into silence’.