Judges Given New Powers to Stop Sham Legal Claims Used by Oligarchs and Mega Rich

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said a newly passed act will protect free speech and democracy as he vowed to fight back against abuses of Britain’s courts.

Britain's Justice Secretary Alex Chalk addresses delegates at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, northern England, on Oct. 3, 2023. Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

New laws will “strike a hammer blow” to oligarchs and the “mega rich” who attempt to use Britain’s courts to silence journalists and campaigners, the justice secretary has said.

Alex Chalk said the scourge of bogus legal cases—known as strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps)—will be tackled under the newly passed Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act.

The legislation, which received Royal Assent on Thursday, will give judges fresh powers to throw out legal claims by wealthy individuals and corporations if they are designed to harass journalists or restrain their right to free speech.

The courts will also be able to cap costs levied at journalists or publishers arising from the “bullying legal threats” designed to censor those “who dare to call out crooked behaviour,” Mr. Chalk said.

Writing in The Telegraph, the minister said Slapps were a tactic often “cynically and deliberately” used by oligarchs and big corporations with links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and targeted at individuals, rather than their publishers, in order to cause maximum distress.

“Staring down the barrel of a lengthy legal battle and eye-watering legal costs, it’s no wonder that journalists often feel they have no choice but to shelve their investigations, fearful of financial ruin and their reputations being dragged through the mud simply for trying to expose the truth,” he said.

Vladimir Putin

The number of Slapps cases has increased from 2 to 14 in a year, with 538 identified across Europe in the past decade, of which 26 were brought in the UK.

Those figures are believed to be the tip of the iceberg, because authors often back down and do not publish in the face of legal threats.

The act will cover about 70 percent of Slapps relating to investigations into the finances of wealthy individuals or firms.

Mr. Chalk also pledged to extend the free speech protections to other areas, including sexual conduct, which would protect investigations into bosses who tried to cover up sexual harassment of their employees.

He wrote: “We know there is more to do. We are determined to end the scourge of Slapps for good, and this is just the start.

“We are also looking at how to tackle cases that fall outside the category of economic crime, with plans to legislate on this as soon as parliamentary time allows,” he said.

“This Government is unapologetically on the side of truth-tellers, not the truth-twisters and Putin cronies who prey on our fiercely independent media. With their corrosive effect on free-speech, Slapps are nothing more than a Trojan horse for censorship—and it’s high time their use was brought to a halt.”

Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich attends the UEFA Women's Champions League final soccer match against FC Barcelona in Gothenburg, Sweden, on May 16, 2021. Martin Meissner, File/AP Photo

The minister said that the sham legal claims are chipping away at the UK’s democracy.

“Every suppressed story is an assault on free speech itself,” he said. “The insidious, chilling effect of Slapps is eating away at our democracy, obscuring the truth to pull the wool over the eyes of the British public. This Government will not stand for it.

“And, as Lord Chancellor, I will not allow our justice system—admired the world over for its fairness—to be abused by the powerful and unscrupulous. So, today, the fightback begins.”

Intimidation

Last year, a libel claim brought against Financial Times journalist Tom Burgis, author of “Kleptopia: How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World,” was dismissed by the High Court.

The legal case had been brought by a Kazakh mining group that featured in the book, which charts how dirty money is linked to corruption and is now “flooding the global economy, emboldening dictators [and] poisoning democracies.”

Catherine Belton, author of “Putin’s People,” faced five lawsuits brought by Russian oligarchs and firms.

One of the lawsuits was filed by Roman Abramovich, who was sanctioned by the UK government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Both Mr. Burgis and Ms. Belton have previously given evidence to MPs on how British courts are being used to intimidate journalists and protect powerful interests.

In his article, Mr. Chalk said their cases are “just two examples of a problem that pervades Fleet Street and the wider media industry.”