Asked by: Baroness Falkner of Margravine (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing legislation to curtail the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Behaviour that makes use of SLAPPs is intolerable and we will tackle it to protect investigative journalism and free speech, while also ensuring access to justice. The Government is focusing on implementing the SLAPPs measures in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Our future approach to SLAPPs reform will be informed by monitoring how these new procedural rules operate when they come into effect in 2025. The work of the SLAPPs taskforce is ongoing and we continue to build our evidence base in considering options for reform in the longer term, taking into account the diversity of views expressed by stakeholders and those targeted by these abhorrent actions.