The Minister for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries (Sir John Whittingdale)
We are pleased to inform the House that the taskforce dedicated to tackling strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), which target journalists, is today publishing a plan of its future activity.
SLAPPs are considered an abuse of the legal process, where the primary objective is to harass, intimidate and financially and psychologically exhaust one’s opponent via improper and costly legal intervention. Launched by HM Government, the taskforce is developing a non-legislative response to SLAPPs targeting journalists, which deter important public-interest reporting.
The taskforce has agreed to undertake an ambitious plan of activity that will address SLAPPs across four separate workstreams: understanding and monitoring the prevalence and nature of SLAPPs; guidance for journalists; legal services ethics; and awareness-raising. Outputs will be delivered by the Government, civil society groups, representative bodies for journalists and legal services stakeholders. These include factual guidance to provide clarity over journalists’ legal rights when faced with SLAPPs tactics, a forum for cross-regulator agreement on conduct for legal professionals dealing with SLAPPs, and an industry-facing conference to promote the taskforce’s work. An online data-gathering tool that will be launched by the National Union of Journalists to boost the evidence base about safety issues affecting journalists will also be designed to enable journalists to self-report SLAPPs confidentially.
The taskforce sits within the framework of the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, which was set up to ensure that journalists operating in the UK can do so free from violence or threats, and forms part of the refreshed national action plan for the safety of journalists published in October this year. It will report to the committee regularly on its progress to ensure activity is aligned to the wider safety of journalists.
The work of the SLAPPs taskforce will be key in driving forward the Government commitment to ensuring an environment in which media freedom can flourish and journalists are safe to investigate and publish stories in the public interest, holding power to account and carrying out their vital role in upholding democracy.
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