Chalk vows to stop oligarchs using courts to gag critics

ALEX CHALK has pledged to end the scourge of oligarchs using the courts as a “Trojan Horse” to silence their critics.

In an online article for The Telegraph, the Justice Secretary said new laws would “strike a hammer blow” against the “mega-rich” who used their “deep pockets” to sue journalists and campaigners to prevent their “dishonest practices” being exposed.

He said their bogus legal cases, called SLAPPS (strategic lawsuits against public participation) “shamelessly” exploited the UK’S legal system to “shut down critics and make sure negative stories never see the light of day, even when clear evidence of wrongdoing exists.

The new laws, which gained royal assent yesterday, will give judges new powers to throw out legal claims by oligarchs, wealthy individuals and corporations if they are designed to harass journalists or restrain their right to free speech. The new Economic Crime Act will also cap the costs that journalists or publishers might have to pay in order to prevent them from being financially ruined by legal action from billionaires.

Mr Chalk said SLAPPS were a tactic often “cynically and deliberately” used by oligarchs and big corporations with links to Russian president Vladimir Putin and targeted at individuals, rather than their publishers, in order to cause maximum distress.

“Staring down the barrel of a lengthy legal battle and eye-watering legal costs, it’s no wonder that journalists often feel they have no choice but to shelve their investigations, fearful of financial ruin and their reputations being dragged through the mud simply for trying to expose the truth,” he said.

Mr Chalk pledged to extend the protections to other areas, including sexual conduct, which would protect investigations into bosses who tried to cover up sexual harassment by employees.