Month: July 2025

‘The Designated Family Judge for the Thames Valley, HHJ Vincent, has written to legal aid lawyers to express her “full support” following the cyber-attack on the Legal Aid Agency’s online digital services, saying she was aware that it had caused “untold stress and worry” to those solicitors and barristers who do family work.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th July 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘R (Ferguson) v HM Assistant Coroner for Sefton, Knowlsey and St Helens [2025] EWHC 1901 (Admin) concerned a challenge by the next of kin of Joseph Farley, who died after jumping from the fourteenth floor of a carpark. The Coroner conducting mr Farley’s inquest has determined that Article 2, ECHR, did not apply and that the inquest could be heard without a jury. Mr Ferguson challenged both of these decisions by way of judicial review.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th July 2025

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘A man who was jailed for 19 years in 2016 for subjecting a girl to a “campaign of violent rape” in Rotherham has been found guilty of raping another vulnerable teenager in the town.’

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The Independent, 23rd July 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) has taken the rare step of dismissing an appeal over the outcome of a fact-finding hearing even through it was supported by the parties in the case.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd July 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘A man has been found guilty of murdering his two-week-old son in a special care baby unit in Somerset by shattering his skull and breaking his neck while nurses worked less than 5 metres away.’

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The Guardian, 24th July 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Two men have been sentenced for falsely distributing chicken as halal meat to restaurants and takeaways across south Wales.’

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BBC News, 24th July 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The world of planning law once again proves itself to be a motor for the development of public law principles. This time, Lewis LJ saw a chance to develop the public law requirement on decision-makers to have regard to relevant considerations. This development takes the form of an arguable gloss on the relevant test. The case is Keep Chiswell Green v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Ors [2025] EWCA Civ 958.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 24th July 2025

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘Over 1,000 illegally imported puppies in five years have ended up in rehoming centres after being stopped at the British border, new figures suggest.’

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BBC News, 25th July 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A 21-year-old student who designed and distributed online kits linked to £100m worth of fraud has been jailed for seven years.’

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The Guardian, 24th July 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Four traders are appealing to have their rate-rigging convictions overturned after the Supreme Court quashed two rate-rigging cases on Wednesday.’

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BBC News, 25th July 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The Justice Committee has launched a new inquiry into access to justice in England and Wales, examining the current state of the legal services and representation market, and how it, and associated operating pressures, affect access to justice.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th July 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Complaints about contentious social media posts by barristers have fuelled a jump of a third in reports to the Bar Standards Board (BSB).’

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Legal Futures, 25th July 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘In R (Campbell) v HM Attorney General [2025] EWHC 1653 (Admin), the Divisional Court (Lord Justice Stuart-Smith and Mr Justice Chamberlain) determined that a refusal by the Attorney General to issue a fiat for an application for a new inquest under section 13 (1) (b) of the Coroners Act 1988 is non-justiciable.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 24th July 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘The Freedom of Information Act 2000 created a scheme which sets up a general right upon members of the public to have information held by public bodies disclosed to them. This right is, however, subject to a number of important exemptions, set out in Part II of the Act. Exemptions are either absolute or qualified. Absolute exemptions, by their nature, operate as a complete answer to any information request: if one of the absolute exemptions applies, it would never be in the public interest for a public body to disclose the information sought.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 23rd July 2025

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

An “urgent and comprehensive, root-and-branch” review is required to address systemic delays and entrenched inefficiencies across the County Court’s operations, MPs have said.

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd July 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘An advert by high street retailer Marks & Spencer has been banned for featuring an “irresponsible” image of a model who appeared “unhealthily thin”.’

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The Guardian, 23rd July 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A High Court ruling casting uncertainty over the immunity of advocates for what they say and do in court could have a “chilling effect”, both on the administration of justice and on “fearless advocacy”, the Bar Council has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 24th July 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Leicester City Council has lost a racial discrimination case in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division), having previously failed at both an Employment Tribunal (ET) and the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th July 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘On Tuesday last week it emerged that a mind-boggling data breach by the UK government – and the momentous policy decisions taken in its wake – had been kept a secret from all but a handful of people across the three institutions of the state for nearly two years.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 23rd July 2025

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org