‘The crown court backlog in England and Wales will continue to rise and may be at the same level at the next general election despite a new package of reforms, Justice Secretary David Lammy has told the BBC.’
BBC News, 24th February 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Access to justice in public law contexts is mediated by several procedural rules, including standing and permission requirements, which reflect a concern to confine judicial review to cases that properly warrant the governmental costs of public law litigation. However, in addition to these universal checkpoints, which are a well-known feature of the judicial review terrain, Parliament has historically entrusted to the Attorney General a distinct gatekeeping role in relation to a subset of public law proceedings which require that law officer’s consent, or “fiat”, before they may be brought. Section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988 is a clear example. It provides that an application to the High Court to quash an inquest finding and order a fresh investigation may be made only by, or with the authority of, the Attorney General, thereby assigning to the law officer a “public interest” function at the threshold of a judicial process. This blog explores whether it would be appropriate for a public interest function of this nature to be examined by way of an application for judicial review under any circumstances, given that the UK Supreme Court has indicated it will hear competing arguments about this in the near future.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th February 2026
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Reddit has been fined £14.47m by the UK’s data watchdog for unlawfully using children’s personal information.’
BBC News, 24th February 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The training of lawyers in England and Wales, both at law schools and through CPD, “is not good enough” and could be improved by regulation, a leading legal academic has told MPs.’
Legal Futures, 25th February 2026
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The High Court has refused five claimants permission to bring a challenge to the Metropolitan Police’s policy requiring practicing Freemasons to declare membership of that organisation to their superiors. None of the grounds, including a challenge based on ECHR rights, had a realistic prospect of success. The judgment did not, however, consider the affected claimants’ rights under Article 9 ECHR, which may be a significant omission. The case is R (United Grand Lodge of England) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2026] EWHC 330 (Admin) (17 February 2026).’
Administrative Court Blog, 23rd February 2026
‘Preventing the owners of law firms from being compliance officers could lead to “additional regulatory expenses” which will be passed onto clients, the Law Society has warned.’
Legal Futures, 24th February 2026
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Last week, the Court of Appeal dismissed the Home Secretary’s appeal against the decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) to allow the appeal of Kamran Safi against his deportation to Afghanistan on Articles 2 and 3 ECHR grounds. The result turned on the fact that the Home Secretary had not contested expert evidence adduced by Mr Safi in the FTT, underlining the importance of evidence in human rights cases. The case is Safi v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 149.’
Administrative Court Blog, 23rd February 2026
‘The Courts are awash with litigation concerning claims being issued out of time, the consequences of which often form the basis for negligence claims.’
Gatehouse Chambers, 17th February 2026
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘On 13 February 2026, the Divisional Court (Dame Victoria Sharp PKBD, Swift and Steyn JJ) upheld the judicial review brought against the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000: R (Ammori) v Home Secretary [2026] EWHC 292 (Admin).The Court dismissed two grounds: failing to give Palestine Action the opportunity to make representations (ground 8), and failing to have regard to relevant considerations (ground 5). The Court upheld two grounds: that the decision was in breach of the Home Secretary’s policy (ground 6), and that it amounted to an unjustified interference with Arts 10 and 11 ECHR (ground 2).’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th February 2026
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘A police officer who said he was made to feel like a “walking disease” at work after being diagnosed with HIV has been awarded more than £40,000 in compensation.’
BBC News, 17th February 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Politicians and experts have thrown their weight behind calls for suicides to be investigated as potential homicides in cases where a person who takes their own life has been affected by domestic abuse.’
The Guardian, 18th February 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Damning prison projections uncovered by The Independent reveal the government’s action plan to tackle the scandal of indefinite jail terms will leave hundreds of prisoners to rot.’
The Independent, 17th February 2026
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘In the Ammori case, the High Court held that the Home Secretary’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 was unlawful. But a quashing order has not been issued and the government now plans to appeal. In those circumstances, are media reports correct to say that, for the time being, Palestine Action is ‘still proscribed’? And where does this leave protestors currently facing prosecution for expressing support for the organisation?’
Public Law for Everyone, 17th February 2026
Source: publiclawforeveryone.com
‘Freemasons have failed in their attempt to bring a legal challenge against Britain’s biggest police force over its decision to compel staff to declare whether they are or have been members.’
The Guardian, 17th February 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Child sex abuse is becoming increasingly complex to police and officers are arresting an average of 1,000 potential offenders each month, the National Crime Agency (NCA) says.’
BBC News, 18th February 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Four Chagos Islanders have landed on one of the archipelago’s atolls to establish what they say will be a permanent settlement, in an attempt to complicate a British plan to transfer the territory to Mauritius.’
The Guardian, 17th February 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘On 26 January 2026, we posted Church proposes significant increase in fees for burial which reviewed Schedule 1 of the draft Order, GS2434. A new Parochial Fees Order is required to set the fees for 2027 and beyond (the maximum period permitted under the Ecclesiastical Fees Measure 1986 (the 1986 Measure) is five years).’
Law & Religion UK, 18th February 2026
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘If you are advising residential tenants, perhaps with security of tenure under the Rent Act 1977 (‘RA 1977’) or the Housing Act 1988, then you will be able to say with confidence whether they have the protection of the various service charge provisions in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (‘LTA 1985’). But what of someone who has a tenancy of a pub or a shop with a flat above: a business tenant of mixed-use premises who has no security under the aforementioned acts but who may well (subject to the contracting out procedure) have the protection of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (‘the LTA 1954′)? Do they, like their purely residential neighbours, have rights which would enable them to – for example – challenge the reasonableness of their service charges?’
Gatehouse Chambers, 17th February 2026
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘A Transport for London (TfL) ad featuring a black teenage boy verbally harassing a white girl has been banned for “perpetuating the negative racial stereotype about black men as perpetrators of threatening behaviour”.’
The Guardian, 18th February 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Dozens of universities are facing legal action from more than 170,000 students seeking compensation after their studies were moved online during Covid-19.’
The Guardian, 16th February 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2026