This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
LABOUR has pledged to abolish vexatious legal cases used to silence reporters and activists, saying Dominic Raab had “promised to act but has done nothing.”
Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said today that the party would bring an end to the use of so-called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (Slapps) — high cost legal claims that have been used by powerful figures to stifle criticism.
The issue was shoved into the spotlight last month after former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi was accused of telling his lawyers to send a Slapp letter to a tax expert who helped reveal that the senior Tory was under investigation by the HMRC.
The scandal prompted renewed calls for the government to speed up promised action against the legal tactic, after the Justice Secretary pledged to tackle the law tactic last March.
In a speech in Middle Temple in London, Mr Reed said: “We will put an end to the use of Slapps to silence critics.”
Labour would give “judges the power to swiftly dispose of claims and back tough penalties against abusive litigation,” he said, adding: “Dominic Raab has promised to act but has done nothing.”
