Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on UK media freedom policy of the use by Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan of libel actions against UK journalists in English courts.

The government is committed to a free and independent media. The Ministry of Justice is currently developing reforms regarding the challenges which Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) present to journalists and others involved in freedom of expression relating to the public interest. Our recent Call for Evidence response, published on 20 July, sets out the Government’s intention to tackle SLAPPs.