Show Notes
When certain powerful and wealthy individuals take issue with information that's been shared about them by journalists, researchers and politicians, never-ending and hugely costly lawsuits often follow. This is known as lawfare - and on this week's episode, we draw back the curtain on its pernicious impact on freedom of speech in the UK, the huge financial and personal costs those experiencing lawfare often shoulder and lookahead to ask whether reform and regulation is possible. On the show, journalists Owen Bennett-Jones and Nina Dos Santos are joined by former intelligence officer and author of the infamous Trump dossier Christopher Steele and former MP Charlotte Leslie who speak to their personal experiences with these kinds of cases. Plus, we're joined by Gavin Millar KC who brings his four decades of legal know-how to the conversation. Ctrl Alt Deceit is brought to you by Democratys, a charity committed to exposing interference in our democratic institutions and inspiring debate and engagement in our democratic process in the UK and beyond. Producer: Paige Reynolds Exec Producer: Lucinda Knight
More from CTRL ALT DECEIT: Democracy in Danger
In the season finale of Ctrl Alt Deceit, Nina dos Santos and Owen Bennett-Jones dig into the tangled web of media ownership, foreign influence and the future of free press. With a new UK government potentially greenlighting a UAE-backed bid for a stake in The Daily Telegraph, the hosts ask: does it matter who owns the news anymore? From Silicon Valley billionaires to Gulf state investors, the press is no longer just the fourth estate; it's a business, a weapon and a mirror of global power shifts. Is editorial independence a thing of the past? And can democracy survive in a world where outrage sells and facts struggle to pay the bills?
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Britain's Conservative Party is one of the oldest and most successful political parties in history. Local elections in the UK have signalled that they are facing the prospect of being wiped out, imperilled by the rise of the right-wing Reform Party, headed by one of the most pervasive and divisive figures in British politics: Nigel Farage. Reform’s success is also coming at the expense of Labour, whose voters are underwhelmed and unconvinced by the performance so far of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government.
On this edition of Ctrl Alt Deceit: Democracy in Danger, we are live at the Royal United Services Institute.