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 Commons on Thursday, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab urged MPs from all parties to embrace the “opportunity” to “put President [Vladimir] Putin and his cronies on notice.”
“We won’t allow our courts to be abused to censor those brave enough to call out corruption. We will protect our free press which is there precisely to hold the powerful to account.
“We will defend freedom of speech, the liberty that guards all of our other freedoms in this country, and our reforms will further strengthen free speech so that those with blood on their hands, those with dirty money in their bank accounts, are no longer free to hide in the shadows.”
Raab said the measures have become more urgently needed as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The war in Ukraine has highlighted the urgency of tackling what is a recent but nonetheless growing problem because the same kleptocrats availing themselves of SLAPPS are often found bankrolling President Putin’s war machine,” he said.
The government is considering updating defamation laws to strengthen the “public interest defence” available to protect those who publish private information from being sued if it was done for the public good.
Ministers are also considering capping the costs claimants can recover to try to stop people “weaponising the high cost of litigation to stifle free speech.”
They may also be required to prove “actual malice” by a defendant in libel claims as part of a bid to “deter spurious claims.”
Other measures could see courts able to throw out claims seen to be using such tactics early on in proceedings and impose bans, called Civil Restraint Orders, to prevent people from bringing repeated legal challenges.
