Standing up for speaking out

When the Guardian asked Reform UK if it wanted to respond to people who remembered Nigel Farage telling people of colour to “go home” or shouting “Sieg heil” while he was at school, the barrister Adam Richardson threatened the paper with legal proceedings “without further notice”.

The Guardian published its story on 18 November. It’s still waiting for Farage to deliver on his threats.

A national newspaper, with hundreds of journalists and specialist lawyers on the payroll, can face down these menaces.

But as Farage dares to dream of waking up in Downing Street, Reform is changing its media strategy, barring councillors from speaking with local papers, bullying political editors and threatening news sites with “aggravated damages”.

As NationCymru’s editor Mark Mansfield told the Guardian, “It seems free speech only exists for people who agree with them.”

At Good Law Project, we’ve faced down legal threats from the Tories and from companies that profited from the pandemic.  We helped a woman who had suffered sexual assault defend her right to tell her own story. We’re supporting journalists targeted by banks and tax lawyers, as well as women of colour, trans people and their allies who are standing up to defamation claims. And we’re helping people who speak out in the public interest, even when we can’t talk about it in public.

If free speech means anything worth fighting for, it means the ability to punch up at power. So if you’re taking on powerful interests and you get a legal letter, get in touch. Our specialist defamation lawyer won’t always be able to help. But if you’re brave enough to take on governments, corporations or politicians who are stoking division and fuelling hatred, we’ve got your back.

• Send details of your case to us on legal@goodlawproject.org or contact us securely.