Paul Rosser and ZLX
- Adam Colsen
- Jul 10, 2025
- 2 min read
Paul Rosser received legal letters—specifically “cease and desist” or SLAPP-style correspondence—from the law firm Jones Whyte, acting on behalf of their client ZLX Ltd, in response to remarks he made on LinkedIn about ZLX’s involvement in an R&D tax-claim court case.
What actually happened
What Rosser said
Rosser accused ZLX of preparing an “invalid/fraudulent” R&D tax-credit claim related to a business’s fridge installation, citing a recent court finding that the claim had indeed been sham or invalid .
The legal letter
Jones Whyte sent Rosser a solicitor’s letter, marked “Strictly Private & Confidential,” demanding he:
Remove his LinkedIn comments,
Issue a public apology,
Provide a legal undertakings,
Or face court action within 24 hours for damages and further legal costs .
Why the letters were SLAPPs
These letters fit the criteria of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which are used to silence critics through intimidation and threat of legal action—even when the critique is accurate. Rosser and others described these letters as:
“a classic abuse of the legal process … [containing] false statements … and a bluff threat of court proceedings.”
Aftermath
The letters demanded false undertakings (i.e., that ZLX didn’t submit invalid claims). Tax Policy Associates later reported Jones Whyte to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the firm subsequently ceased representing ZLX .
In summary
Paul Rosser was sent legal letters because he publicly asserted that ZLX had prepared a bogus R&D tax-claim, which the law firm Jones Whyte responded to with a threatening SLAPP-style letter to silence him. This was part of a broader pattern of frivolous legal threats issued by ZLX, as confirmed by court findings and third-party reports.
This case empowered Paul Rosser and his colleague Rufus Meakin to become the R&D police and seems to have absolved them both of taking any responsibility for anything Rosser wrote or put online
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