‘Coroners examine deaths that are not straightforward, like unexpected or violent deaths, or those that take place in state custody. Every year, thousands of British families rely on these courts for crucial answers. For many, an inquest provides the key interaction with the arms of the state at a time of trauma.’

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BBC News, 25th August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘August 2026 sees the 30th anniversary of the Employment Rights Act 1996 coming into force. In the words of the Lord Chancellor at the time, it (with the linked Industrial Tribunals Act 1996) restated ‘most of the employment legislation which remained unconsolidated after the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992’ (HL Deb Vol 568, col 468 (16 January 1996)), including the legislation which, inter alia, provided protection from unfair dismissal (the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978). When the Employment Rights Act 1996 was passed it had 245 sections and, with its schedules, ran to some 176 pages. It has been much amended since then and now has some 435 sections covering over 450 pages (including references to the amending legislation), with, for example, 56 sections covering zero hours and similar contracts and tips inserted between sections 27 and 28 by a combination of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, the Employment Rights Act 2025 and the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023.’

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UK Labour Law, 25th August 2026

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

‘The Upper Tribunal has recently ruled that the Home Office has been acting unlawfully, for at least nine years, by failing to publish its policy of only ever granting 12 months’ permission to remain in the UK to certain victims of modern slavery under section 65 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (colloquially known as “VTS leave”). The Secretary of State was under a duty to publish the details of this policy, so that applicants could make meaningful representations in relation to it. Failure to do so constituted a public law error. The case is R (TK) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] UKUT 316 (IAC) (29 June 2026).’

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Administrative Court Blog, 24th August 2026

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘A pregnant saleswoman was the victim of discrimination when her colleague told her “nobody wants to see a pregnant woman”, a tribunal ruled.’

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The Independent, 24th August 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Survivors of violent crime and families of victims have criticised the UK government for announcing “world first” plans to introduce restriction zones for serious offenders freed from prison within a few weeks without spelling out how they would work.’

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The Guardian, 24th August 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘In Doubtfire v Horrell [2026] EWHC 2173 (Ch) (‘Doubtfire’), Chief ICC Judge Briggs heard an application to set aside a statutory demand (‘SD’) served on an individual/(alleged) debtor (‘D’), by an alleged creditor (‘H’), on grounds under Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (the ‘Rules’), r.10.5(5), that:
(a) ‘the debtor appears to have a counterclaim, set-off or cross demand which equals or exceeds the amount of the debt specified in the statutory demand;’
(b) ‘the debt is disputed on grounds which appear to the court to be substantial;’
(d) ‘the court is satisfied, on other grounds, that the demand ought to be set aside.’

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33 Bedford Row, 23rd August 2026

Source: www.33bedfordrow.co.uk

‘Philippa Seal and Ayesha Omar’s article in the Landlord and Tenant Review has been published this week, examining the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 and its implications for service charge disputes. Their article considers the Act’s new transparency and enforcement provisions alongside the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Bradley v Abacus Land 4 Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1308. The reforms promise greater transparency for leaseholders — but will transparency alone make it easier to challenge a service charge? “What use is transparency if the legal threshold for challenging a landlord’s decision remains so high?” Philippa and Ayesha explore that question and consider whether further reform may be needed.’

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4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 14th August 2026

Source: www.4-5.co.uk

‘Secretary of State for the Home Department v Hirtie [2026] EWCA Civ 1000, handed down by the Court of Appeal on 30 July 2026, is a deportation appeal that turns less on the substance of Article 8 than on procedural discipline: whether a party who unequivocally withdraws a ground of appeal before the Upper Tribunal (”UT”) can resurrect it before the Court of Appeal. The Court’s answer, delivered by Stuart-Smith LJ, was a firm no, reinforcing a growing body of authority requiring parties to identify and narrow the issues in dispute at the earliest opportunity.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 21st August 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘A recent Supreme Court decision has removed a significant procedural hurdle for foreign judgment creditors seeking to pursue bankruptcy proceedings in England and Wales, confirming that a separate English recognition judgment is not needed before a petition can be presented.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st August 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘In 2016 we posted Flood damage and the faculty jurisdiction in which the Salisbury consistory court considered options for post-flood remediation, Re St. Mary Charminster [2016] ECC Sal 1. The recent determination Re St. Mary the Virgin Beachamwell [2026] ECC Ely 1 concerned a faculty petition for another “post-disaster” restoration of a church following a devastating fire in February 2022. In both cases, the parish was faced with a tabula rasa from which restoration works could be planned, albeit within constraints from the insurers, and as such these differ from most considerations of reordering.’

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Law & Religion UK, 24th August 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘A County Court judge has allowed an appeal in a homelessness case brought against the Royal Borough of Greenwich even though crucial points were not originally raised by the claimant.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st August 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘It is likely that “humans will come to accept, on economic grounds, machine-enabled resolution of small disputes”, the Master of the Rolls has predicted.’

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Legal Futures, 21st August 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Hundreds of head injury claims from former rugby players have narrowly survived strike-out attempts.’

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Law Society Gazette, 21st August 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Five Palestine Action activists who vandalised a Barclays branch in Burnley will not be sentenced as terrorists, a judge has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 21st August 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Drugs that help control the libidos of people who have committed sexual offences could be rolled out for thousands of male prisoners in England and Wales from December 2028, an expert has said.’

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The Guardian, 22nd August 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A man has been jailed for life for murdering his flatmate in the UK just three years after completing a prison sentence in Romania for a “strikingly similar” killing.’

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BBC News, 21st August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Prince Harry and six other public figures face paying up to £34.5m to the publisher of the Daily Mail after a High Court judge imposed an exceptional order for legal costs over their failed privacy case.’

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BBC News, 21st August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A scheme that could see serious sexual and violent offenders confined to areas just a few miles wide after leaving prison will be launched in October, Justice Secretary Alex Norris has announced.’

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BBC News, 23rd August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘When does taking account of a Coroner’s view become an unlawful abdication of another body’s own responsibilities?’

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Parklane Plowden, 17th August 2026

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk