Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Debate
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Lord Cromwell
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Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation
Lord Cromwell Excerpts(3 days, 13 hours ago)
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Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
I do not know the answer to the noble Lord’s question, so I will write to him.
Lord Cromwell (CB)
I had quite a lot to do with getting a SLAPPs element into the economic crime Act as a beachhead, but it was always seen as just that: a beachhead. A far more comprehensive law was to follow, covering all the other sectors beyond economic crime. Why have we not seen anything further? Will we see something further during this Parliament to cover the other areas? I am sure the Minister will be aware that law firms that profit from this will be lobbying hard against it. I hope he will resist that.
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
I remember the interventions from the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, in the debates on that Act, in which I took part as well. I am going to give the noble Lord the same answer as I have just given. We want to see how the changes to the rules will change the actions of the courts. SLAPPs are covert and they need to be identified. We want to enable the judges to identify them appropriately.