On 11 September 2024, a legal letter from London law firm, Silver, Langston And Percival Partners was sent to every sitting MP, calling for them to withdraw public statements and apologise. If they do not they could face court proceedings in an unprecedented attack on protected speech in Westminster. Given the lack of comprehensive anti-SLAPP legislation, experts suggest that MPs should expect a lengthy process that could cost upwards of £500,000 to bring a defence to trial.
The letter, sent on Wednesday afternoon, stated that the MPs’ “comments are part of a coordinated and dishonest campaign” and that the parliamentarians’ attempt to “hide behind parliamentary privilege … flies in the face of the standards expected of parliamentarians. The regurgitation of such misinformation smacks of lazy engagement with the facts, which is not to be expected of someone of your standing and reputation.” In a further escalation of the threat, the letter pointed out that as the statements had been republished in the US, the unnamed client could expect to be “awarded 7-figure damages in the US.” This cost would be on top of those incurred in the UK.
This information is being made public for the first time by the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition. The Coalition has been in touch with a number of MPs, including Rachel Blake MP and Jamie Stone MP, about the letter. They (pictured below) shared the letter with us despite the fact that Silver, Langston And Percival Partners had threatened “that any attempt to disseminate this confidential communication beyond your immediate legal advisors and your insurer (which we encourage you to notify of this 7-figure claim) is a potential contempt of court.”
This is not a real legal threat.
The unnamed client is a fiction and so is the law firm, Silver, Langston And Percival Partners. The letter, which can be read here, alongside an attached Q&A, was prepared by the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, with support from media defence lawyers, to highlight the impact of receiving a threatening legal letter aimed at protected speech and the need to bring forward a law protecting against SLAPPs. However, it is important to reiterate that, while the letter is a fiction, it includes language from real legal letters that have been sent to public watchdogs in the UK. Without an anti-SLAPP law, these letters can be used to shut down all forms of public interest speech. As a result, those with power and money can continue to abuse the law to silence those speaking out in the public interest. The UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition has documented SLAPP threats targeting a wide range of people including journalists, sexual violence survivors, local community groups and campaigners, and environmental defenders. With the previous SLAPP Bill dead after the announcement of the General Election and no commitment for an Anti-SLAPP law in the recent King’s Speech, there is currently no legislative timetable for picking up where the last government left off. This is despite the issue enjoying strong cross-party support.
This week MPs from Labour and the Liberal Democrats came together in Parliament to support this campaign and lend their support for a comprehensive Anti-SLAPP Law. Here are Rachel Blake MP (Labour) and Jamie Stone MP (Liberal Democrats) with a copy of the fictitious legal letter.
