Judges in England and Wales are to be given more power to throw out lawsuits which allegedly help wealthy and powerful individuals and corporations gag the media.
In March 2022, the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke out about the “chilling effect” of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), which he said were being used to stop journalists or campaigners from exposing wrongdoing.
The then Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said, “We will not tolerate Russian oligarchs and other corrupt elites abusing British courts to muzzle those who shine a light on their wrongdoing.”
On Tuesday the government tabled amendments to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill which would make it easier for courts in England and Wales to dismiss defamation or privacy lawsuits linked to allegations of economic crime….