Over 100 academics call for anti-SLAPP legislation

JVL Introduction

Put simply a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or a SLAPP is “an abusive lawsuit filed by a private party with the purpose of silencing critical speech.”

Their use is widespread and they are a serious threat to academic freedom and to the freedom of expression more generally.

Katie Higgins and Sarah Kunz have researched this issue in academia:

“[W]e have heard too many stories about colleagues having to self-censor, change the focus of their research, and face the devastating financial and emotional impact of SLAPPs, often with little institutional support.

And not just in academia.

IN August 2025 a landmark complaint was made to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about UK Lawyers for Israel by the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) and the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), accusing them of waging a campaign against solidarity with Israel.

UKLFI denies doing any such thing, saying “it works to the highest professional standards, using available laws to counter the oldest hatred…”

We repost below a letter signed by more than a hundred academics calling on Keir Starmer to include anti-SLAPP provisions in the forthcoming King’s Speech.

Here’s hoping this most illiberal of governments can find a bit of spine…

RK

This article was originally published by UK anti-SLAPP Coalition on Wed 4 Mar 2026. Read the original here.