Month: May 2026

‘A man has pleaded guilty after four migrants drowned trying to cross the English Channel.’

Full Story

BBC News, 26th May 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The boys, two of whom were 15 and one 14 at the time of sentencing, were given youth rehabilitation orders after the judge in the case said he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily” and support their reintegration into society.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 26th May 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Drug dealers are “operating with impunity” in Britain’s prisons, a watchdog has warned, as new figures show drug-related deaths have soared to a record high.’

Full Story

The Independent, 25th May 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘The Fair Work Agency (FWA) was established under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) on 7 April 2026 as an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade, consolidating labour market enforcement functions previously carried out by other authorities.’

Full Story

Kingsley Napley Employment Law Blog, 22nd May 2026

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘Lord Chancellor David Lammy has rejected a recommended 3.8% pay award for judges but they will still receive 3.5%, when the government originally said it could only afford 2%.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 26th May 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘The recent Court of Appeal decision of Bali v 1-2 Couriers Limited and others [2025] EWCA Civ 1413 provides a helpful reminder of when a claim form is ‘issued’ under the Civil Procedure Rules.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 22nd May 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘In Episode 239 Emma-Louise Fenelon speaks to John Whitting KC about expert evidence at trial, which will be of interest to first-time and seasoned experts alike. This episode is the third in our series on expert evidence, following Episode 177 with Margaret Bowron KC and Episode 100 with Neil Sheldon KC.’

Full Story

Law Pod UK, 26th May 2026

Source: audioboom.com

‘A junior solicitor who used artificial intelligence (AI) to draft two misleading emails to the High Court “seems to have almost entirely outsourced the thinking process to the program”, the judge has said.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 26th May 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘The Metropolitan Police says it is changing its policy on releasing more body-worn video from officers “where it can improve transparency and trust in policing”.’

Full Story

BBC News, 25th May 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Imagine you are woken up one day with a loud knock at the door. It is the police who have a warrant for your arrest pursuant to an extradition request from a European country which you visited on holiday a few years earlier.’

Full Story

Kingsley Napley Public Law Blog, 22nd May 2026

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘Single-sex toilets and changing rooms in England, Wales and Scotland must exclude transgender men and women, according to a new code of practice from the equalities watchdog.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 21st May 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘In March, West Yorkshire Trading Standards successfully prosecuted Peter Hunter, who owned a domiciliary care company (Caring for You (Yorkshire) Limited), for multiple offences under section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006. This offence is committed when a person occupies a position in which he is expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of another person. He dishonestly abuses that position and intends, by means of abuse of that position, to make a gain for himself or another, or to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 20th May 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The former boss of the collapsed investment firm London Capital & Finance (LC&F) has been imprisoned for six months for contempt of court, after admitting breaching a restraining order by selling luxury items including horse saddles and a hot tub.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 21st May 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘For the first time in the history of devolution, nationalist or independence-oriented parties lead all three devolved nations simultaneously: Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, Plaid Cymru in Wales, and the SNP in Scotland. Meanwhile, Reform UK topped the national equivalent vote in England. The United Kingdom’s political geography has been fundamentally redrawn. What has not been redrawn — and what makes the May 2026 results constitutionally as well as politically significant — is the legal framework within which each of these parties must now operate. Northern Ireland has a treaty-backed statutory mechanism for a referendum on its constitutional future. Scotland has a route that is blocked. Wales has a mechanism that has never been activated. These are not minor technical differences; they are the fault lines along which the UK’s territorial constitution may be tested in the years to come.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 21st May 2026

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

‘The Domestic Abuse Act fails to fully recognise the danger of technology-facilitated abuse, such as location tracking or hidden stalkerware, a Lords select committee has heard.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 21st May 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – the bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales – fell at the close of the 2024-2026 parliamentary session, after running out of time in the House of Lords. Attention has now shifted to whether the bill could return in the next session and, if so, whether it could be enacted using the procedures set out in the Parliament Act. This briefing explains the Parliament Act procedure, examines previous uses of the Act and the procedural lessons that may be drawn from them, and looks at the constitutional issues involved.’

Full Story

Hansard Society, 7th May 2026

Source: www.hansardsociety.org.uk

‘Three teenage boys who raped two girls in separate attacks have been given sentences that are “far too lenient’, a police chief has said.’

Full Story

BBC News, 21st May 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘David Lammy and the most senior judge in England and Wales are drawing up plans to accelerate the recruitment of minority ethnic and working-class solicitors into the judiciary.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 21st May 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘In a wide-ranging High Court judgment, Saini J considered, and rejected, a number of distinct challenges against the Secretary of State’s decision to impose sanctions on the nephew of an associate of Vladimir Putin. In doing so, he has provided a number of interesting comments – albeit most of it technically obiter – on various aspects of public law doctrine. The case is R (Ismailov) v Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (No 2) [2026] EWHC 1188 (Admin) (18 May 2026).’

Full Story

Administrative Court Blog, 21st May 2026

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com