She wouldn't name them – Malta and Slovakia – but European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourová said countries where journalists have been murdered must offer more protections, including against SLAPP suits aimed at silencing them.

EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová presents the launch of the CASE website, where individuals or organisations that have been victims of a SLAPP can register their case.

The European Union “made a horrible mistake in Europe by underestimating the role of media for upholding democracy,” European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová said, citing the murders of journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta in 2017 and Ján Kuciak in Slovakia in 2018. Both probed high-level corruption.

Proceedings resumed this morning in the case of Kumlin and another v Jonsson and others, which is considering if a suit against a Swedish publication for alleged libel should be held in London under English law.

London's High Court has heard that a £30m defamation claim should be dismissed as the claimant, a Swedish businessman, is engaged in “libel tourism,” rather than bringing his claim against Swedish journalists, over an article written in Sweden, before a Swedish court.