‘Women in prison are resorting to self-harm because of “astonishing gaps” in basic services including strict time limits when contacting their children and bans from using washing machines for dirty underwear, according to a watchdog’s report.’
The Guardian, 5th February 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A nationwide plan to digitise immigration documents recently came into force. Since January 1, millions of foreign nationals who live in the UK must now use digital-only status documents, as all biometric residence permits expired at the end of 2024.’
EIN Blog, 3rd February 2025
Source: www.ein.org.uk
‘A man has been jailed for 30 years for trying to kill a police officer by stabbing him in the head with a pair of scissors.’
BBC News, 4th February 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Lawyers representing 3,500 claimants are preparing to sue the pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over alleged links between talcum powder and cancer, in what is expected to be one of the largest pharmaceutical product group actions in English and Welsh legal history.’
The Guardian, 4th February 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The local authority threshold statement at this stage detailed the injuries and submitted that the fractures were caused by excessive force or shaking; the bruises and abrasions caused by grabbing or squeezing. The parents had not been honest about the cause of the injuries and if one of them had caused them, the other had failed protect to Claire from being injured. Additionally, the local authority relied on an injury that had occurred earlier in the summer but had at that time not been deemed a child protection matter. The statement set out a list of concerns relating to David’s drug use and to Amy’s failure to protect Claire from the consequences. There were also references to David’s inappropriate handling of Claire although eventually this particular point was not included in the judge’s findings.’
Transparency Project, 29th January 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘A man who killed an 83-year-old great-grandmother when he repeatedly ran over her with his van has been jailed for 13 months.’
BBC News, 29th January 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘When dealing with the arrangements following separation, sometimes individuals need more than just the advice of a solicitor. Experts are frequently brought in to advise on specialist areas, such as taxation and pensions. The court process is adversarial in nature, and as such can easily become a breeding ground for polarised views and distrust. Expert opinions relied on by one party can be viewed with suspicion by the other, leading to lengthy (and costly) questions about, or submissions in respect of, those opinions. Each person may feel it necessary to seek their own expert advice in the background…double the experts usually means double the costs, reducing the total resources left to be shared.’
Kingsley Napley Family Law Blog, 29th January 2025
Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk
‘A teenager has been given a life sentence for murdering a 17-year-old boy in a mobile phone robbery.’
BBC News, 29th January 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Barrister Adam Pipe explains the role and appointment of litigation friends in the Immigration Tribunals following December’s new Joint Presidential Guidance No. 1 on the appointment of litigation friends in the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).’
EIN Blog, 28th January 2025
Source: www.ein.org.uk
‘One evening in autumn 2023, a young couple took their five month old baby to an emergency hospital where she was diagnosed with numerous physical injuries (some very serious) which the parents couldn’t explain. Local authority children’s services were called in and care proceedings began. The baby went into foster care under an interim care order when she left hospital. Fortunately, she soon fully recovered from the injuries. More than a year later, a full care order was made.’
Transparency Project, 29th January 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Whatever its cause, a backlog of over 73,000 Crown court cases is not acceptable. Delays for complainants, defendants and witnesses all impede justice. In the third quarter of 2024, the Crown court received over 31,683 new cases and disposed of 29,502. The passage of time will not solve the problem. Change is inevitable.’
Kingsley Napley Criminal Law Blog, 27th January 2025
Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk
‘The High Court has rejected an attempt by American actor Mercer Boffey to argue that his house in Richmond is not liable for council tax.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A former supreme court judge has told MPs that applications for assisted dying should not need high court approval.’
The Guardian, 29th January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A man who claimed his daughter died in a “freak accident” during a play-fight with a knife has been found guilty of her murder.’
BBC News, 27th January 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘On 23 January, Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to “stop blockers getting in the way” of infrastructure development, by introducing restrictions on judicial review of infrastructure projects. Notwithstanding this government’s consistent commitment to reforming the planning system, so as to galvanise infrastructure and housing delivery, and its forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the announcement of these particular proposals may have come as something of a surprise to public lawyers. The proposals are, though, largely reflective of an Independent review into legal challenges against Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects led by Lord Banner KC (“the Banner Review”), which was commissioned by the previous Conservative government, and they follow on from the Ministry of Justice’s call for evidence on implementing some of Lord Banner’s proposals, which ran from 28 October 2024 to 30 December 2024.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 28th January 2025
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) has approved plans by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to change its publication policy and keep details of misconduct on its website for longer.’
Legal Futures, 28th January 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal brought by two journalists against a judge’s decision to order the anonymisation of the names of the circuit judges that had decided historic care proceedings relating to Sara Sharif, who was murdered by her father and step-mother in 2023.’
Local Government Lawyer, 17th January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘New practice guidance ‘The use of Intermediaries, Lay Advocates and Cognitive Assessments in the Family Court’, was issued by the President of the Family Division on 23 January.’
Transparency Project, 27th January 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The owner of an XL bully dog which chased and killed a man has been jailed for three years.’
BBC News, 27th January 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has upheld the striking out a representative action for misuse of private information. The judgment confirms the correct approach to identifying whether all claimants have the necessary ‘same interest’ in order to pursue a representative action. It highlights the risk that stripping back a claim to its lowest common denominator so as to satisfy the ‘same interest’ requirement may result in the pared down claim having no real prospect of success. Indeed, the Court of Appeal concluded that “a representative class claim for misuse of private information is always going to be very difficult to bring”.’
Henderson Chambers, 23rd December 2025
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
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