Experts have welcomed the first meeting of an official group tasked with preventing journalists from being sued by the rich and powerful in trumped-up lawsuits – but urged ministers to go further to protect reporters.
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer attended the inaugural meeting of a new task force established by the government to tackle Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) after pressure from openDemocracy and other publications.
The taskforce will meet every two months to “build on work in the Economic Crime Bill”, which was amended earlier this year to offer some formal protection for UK journalists exposing economic crime.
