Legal

British courts to gain powers to throw out lawsuits designed to silence critics

Known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, the actions are often used by wealthy individuals to silence critics

  • June 13, 2023
Slapps are used by wealthy individuals and organisations to prevent critics revealing information

Judges in England and Wales will be given more powers to throw out lawsuits that allow the rich and powerful to gag the press, under new proposals to help protect public interest speech.

These legal threats, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps), are often used by wealthy individuals and firms to try to stop journalists or campaigners from exposing wrongdoing under defamation and privacy laws.

Rishi Sunak’s government has tabled amendments to the ...