The UK government has announced reforms to libel laws in order to stop Russian oligarchs abusing British courts to silence their critics. In a statement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to tackle what he described as the “chilling effect” of a “new kind of lawfare” being used by oligarchs and the super-rich who can afford to threaten legal action against journalists trying to expose wrongdoing. The Ministry of Justice said wealthy “corrupt elites” and powerful corporations had been “put on notice by the government” as it set out plans to speed up changes to rules on so-called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs). The move follows news the High Court dismissed a libel claim brought by Kazakh mining giant Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) against Financial Times journalist Tom Burgis about passages in his book “Kleptopia: How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World.” Introducing the proposals in the House of …