The Government has been urged to take further action to address Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).

As part of an organised ‘Day of Action’, the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition published a set of materials aimed at putting pressure on the Government to legislate for more effective anti-SLAPP measures to be included in next month’s King’s Speech.

We have already commented on existing anti-SLAPP provisions under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 that came into force last year, and which were successfully invoked for the first time at the High Court last month (see here). While many have welcomed such laws making their way onto the statute books, there has long been concern that a ‘universal’ anti-SLAPP law is needed, rather than one that only addresses cases concerning economic crime.

Attempts have been made to introduce a Private Member’s Bill to this effect (as discussed here), but to no effect. The most recent iteration is due to receive its Second Reading in the House of Commons next month, but it is expected to stall due to a lack of time for debate.

To address this, the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition has embarked on a campaign to pressure the Government into including universal anti-SLAPP provisions in the upcoming King’s Speech. In addition to providing a template letter for individuals to send to MPs and examples of recent experiences of those on the receiving side of SLAPPs, the Anti-SLAPP Coalition and the National Union of Journalists encourage people to sign a petition, explaining that:

“SLAPPs cannot be stamped out by reforming individual laws. This would be futile – as soon as one law was reformed, the SLAPP claimants will simply find another to abuse. This is why we need a standalone Anti-SLAPP Law that offers universal, clear and easy to access protections against abusive legal threats. The longer we wait the more people can be threatened into silence by those with deep pockets”.

To read more, click here.