Former Brexit Secretary Calls for Government Action to Curb SLAPPs

Britain's Brexit Secretary David Davis speaks in the House of Commons during the second reading debate on the EU (Notification on Withdrawal) Bill, in London, on Jan. 31, 2017. (PA via AP)

Former Brexit Secretary David Davis has called on the government to take urgent action to stop so-called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), as he raised in Parliament the case of several defamation actions which have been brought in the High Court in London against British media outlets.

Campaigners against SLAPPs say they are injunctions used by wealthy corporations and individuals to deter public interest journalism.

Davis used parliamentary privilege to raise the case of Jusan Technologies Ltd. (JTL), a UK-based company which The Telegraph, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and openDemocracy have claimed is linked to the former President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

JTL denies it has any links with Nazarbayev and has served legal letters in which it says the claims are inaccurate and are causing financial losses to a UK company.

Labour MP Christian Matheson said he had tabled a written question in Parliament about the effect of SLAPPs on “media freedom” and was contacted by JTL’s lawyers who urged him to withdraw that question.

Davis responded: “They clearly don’t understand parliamentary privilege. Secondly, what they are doing ... is trying to repress free speech and transparency in this country.”

‘SLAPPs … Are a Form of Bullying’

During an adjournment debate in the House of Commons on Monday, justice minister Gareth Johnson said: “SLAPPs are wrong. They are a form of bullying and they need to be stopped and stopped through legislation.”

MPs on both sides of the house called on the government to amend the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill—which is currently going through Parliament—to include curbs on SLAPPs.

Johnson said the government’s proposals were “not oven-ready,” but he said the Ministry of Justice was committed to introducing legislation.

Several MPs said they planned to table amendments to the bill that would outlaw SLAPPs.

Dame Margaret Hodge, a Labour MP and former minister, said: “We all agree the legislation is necessary, the problem is that if the minister doesn’t take advantage of the legislation that is before us—which is the Economic Crime Bill—I’ll tell you, he’ll be arguing behind the scenes on getting time for legislation for years and years and years.”

She told Johnson, “The opportunity is there, the need is there, please grasp that opportunity and put it down as amendments to the existing bill before the house.”

Johnson said he could not give her that commitment and he said the government’s position was that it would be better to have a single piece of legislation on the issue.

He said, “The legislation at this stage is still being drafted and as a consequence it’s not oven-ready, if you like, to go straight into another piece of legislation that’s before the house right now.”

Davis said: “The key issue is speed. If he can turn round to us … at some point in the near future and say, ‘yes, we’re going to do it in this session, yes, we’re going to do it soon,’ then he’ll find the Economic Crime Bill makes much easier progress than otherwise.”

Last month Jusan Technologies issued a statement in which it said: “JTL stresses that, in these lawsuits, it does not seek to silence truthful journalism in the public interest. JTL has no objection to robust reporting in relation to Mr Nazarbayev or his family.

“However, to link JTL to allegations of corruption on the part of Mr Nazarbayev, as the articles that are the subject of the claims continue to do, is wrong. That is the basis for these lawsuits,” it added.

PA Media contributed to this report.