To mark the fifth anniversary of the founding of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, a large number of editors, journalists, lawyers, academics, media and civil society organisations and others have joined forces to write a letter to the Prime Minister calling for further anti-SLAPP measures to be introduced in the next King’s Speech.

We have previously commented (for example here) on the legislative action – and inaction – in this area. Last year, provisions within the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) came into force which included a statutory definition of a SLAPP, and introduced new procedural rules enabling claims meeting that definition to be dismissed before trial. However, those provisions apply only to cases involving economic crime. Attempts have been made to introduce a general anti-SLAPP law (including a Private Member’s Bill in the previous Parliament, on which we commented here) but so far without success.

While welcoming the measures in the ECCTA, the signatories to the letter argue that there remains a need for ‘robust’, ‘accessible’ and – crucially – ‘universal’ protections against SLAPPs. These would include “an early dismissal mechanism, an objective test for filtering SLAPPs out of court, and the ability to minimise costs and penalise bad conduct”.

Commenting on the letter, the co-chairs of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition said: “a commitment to stamp out SLAPPs is a commitment to ensuring British justice remains a level playing field. Only then can SLAPP targets – be they journalists, campaigners, local organisers, sexual violence survivors, victims’ advocates or anyone speaking out in the public interest – mount a defence without being threatened into silence by the costs, trauma and disruption an abusive legal threat can cause. With the significant number of signatories, demonstrating the consensus across many sectors of society, echoing that already seen across political parties, we hope this letter serves to underscore to the Government the urgency of this issue, and the need to prioritise introducing measures that protect the right to speak up to challenge wrongdoing, scrutinise power and express ourselves freely”.

To read the letter in full, click here.