UK

‘Legal gangsters’ who try to silence critics exposing wrongdoing ‘should face £1m fines’

Amy Gibbons
Tue, 24 January 2023 

Bob Seely says firms offering strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps) 'are becoming a fifth column' - Paul Grover for The Telegraph

Expensive law firms that threaten free speech by using “legal gangsterism” to silence critics should face £1 million punishments, an MP has warned.

Bob Seely, the Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight, tabled proposals to curb the use of “noxious” lawsuits by “bad actors” to intimidate journalists and campaigners.

Firms that engage in strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps), utilised by the "enemies of law-governed states", are offering a "one-stop shop to spy, to snoop, to smear and to sue", he said.

Slapps usually involve wealthy elites using legal action to try to stop journalists or campaigners from exposing wrongdoing under defamation and privacy laws.

Mr Seely said the legal industry is "justifiably a prized part of London and our soft power". However, he claimed the "Slapps culture" undermines that "great tradition".

He suggested lawyers who engage in these "appalling" actions could be hit with a £1 million penalty to quickly "send this industry packing".

'Fifth column'

"In terms of our free media, freedom of speech, these high-priced law firms - through naivety, poor judgement or simple greed - are becoming a fifth column," he said.

The Government announced proposed reforms in July 2022 to give the courts new powers to throw out meritless claims quicker and put a cap on costs. However, they have to yet to make progress in Parliament.

Mr Seely introduced his own proposals via his Defamation, Privacy, Freedom of Expression, Data Protection, Legal Services and Private Investigators Bill in the Commons on Tuesday.

"Firms who offer Slapps have made themselves wealthy, effectively attacking a free media, freedom of speech and legitimate corporate due diligence," he told MPs.

"I think this, as a business model, is a form of legalised intimidation - effectively legal gangsterism."

Mr Seely warned that the Government itself is being "cowed" by Slapps, with investigators including the Serious Fraud Office and National Crime Agency sometimes threatened with judicial review.

He said his Bill would "limit the financial and psychological costs of a meritless Slapps claim which can be imposed on a defendant", introduce sanctions against those who "abuse our courts" and dismiss such claims before costs accrued.

"If we fine lawyers engaged in Slapps - dare I call them slappers? - if we fine them £1 million every time a slapper brought in a Slapp, I think we would be able to send this industry packing within a very short period," he said.