United Kingdom Prime Minister Therese May holds a Cabinet reshuffle on Monday 8 January 2018 and makes new Ministerial Appointments.

Ministers are promising action to clamp down on ‘baseless’ lawsuits being used by the rich and powerful to silence journalists.

The government is setting up a taskforce designed to halt so-called ‘SLAPPs’ – Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.

SLAPPs have been used by the wealthy to intimidate and financially exhaust those seeking to expose wrongdoing, threatening them with extreme costs for defending a claim

They have been used prominently by Russian oligarchs to silence journalists, often using bogus defamation and privacy grounds that prevent the publication of information in the public interest.

Culture secretary Lucy Frazer will today attend the inaugural meeting of the taskforce, which will bring together major players from the media and legal sectors – including the Society of Editors, the National Union of Journalists and the Law Society of England and Wales.

A recent report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation found that SLAPPs have risen substantially since 2015, with half of journalists saying they or their newsroom has experienced legal action due to their reporting.

Ms Frazer, pictured, said: “When I became Culture Secretary I vowed to stand up for independent voices and nurture a thriving media landscape which upholds and champions fearless truth telling.

“SLAPPs have led to journalists having to crowdfund their legal fees and some have even been forced to sell their homes – simply for doing their job.

“Working together with industry leaders, we will develop strong measures which enhance the freedom of the press to expose wrongdoing without fear of our justice system being abused to silence journalists.”

The taskforce is expected to commission research to investigate the use of SLAPPs against journalists. It will also explore how legal services regulation could prevent or mitigate SLAPPs, draw up plans for new specialist training for judges to help them identify and throw out SLAPPs more easily, and develop guidance to support journalists, publications or law professionals.