BUYING SILENCE

'How Oligarchs, Corporations and Plutocrats Use the Law to Gag Their Critics' is the sub-title of this Best Law Book to Read in 2024 which now includes the inside story of the Mohamed Al Fayed case. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs, are designed to intimidate and silence critics of the wealthy and powerful by confronting them with aggressive and rapacious lawyers, massive legal costs, private investigators, PR companies and hackers. Billionaire oligarchs, corporations and those with skeletons in the cupboard are laundering their reputations by suing for libel, even when what's been written about them is true. Their money can overwhelm opponents and worse still, they compel the media into self-censorship, and freedom of speech and the right to information are the victims. In this timely and insightful and often shocking book, veteran media lawyer David Hooper has fully updated his book with a new chapter on how Mohamed Al Fayed and his enablers used the law to cover up his horrific campaign of abuse. 'From Maxwell to Prigozhin the cases were all shockingly self-serving and made worse by the London solicitors who swapped their integrity for unlimited fees' - Juliet Clay writes on Amazon. 411 page paperback.