Decision to block Prince Charles’s letters upheld – BBC News

“The attorney general’s decision to block public disclosure of letters the Prince of Wales wrote to ministers has been upheld by the High Court.”

Full story

BBC News, 9th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Why NSA surveillance is a threat to British doctors and lawyers – The Guardian

Posted June 21st, 2013 in confidentiality, intelligence services, internet, news, privacy by tracey

“Professionals using cloud services will have to guard against the danger of patients and clients being snooped on.”

Full story

The Guardian, 20th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Confidentiality clauses in public sector payoffs ‘must not stop whistleblowers’ – The Guardian

“Margaret Hodge says government must make clear deals should not stop whistleblowers from speaking out, after NAO report.”

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The Guardian, 21st June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

ZZ (France) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – WLR Daily

ZZ (France) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Case C-300/11); [2013] WLR (D) 218

“Where a national authority had failed to inform an EU citizen precisely and in full of the public security grounds, and the related evidence, upon which it had made a decision under article 27 of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC refusing the citizen entry, the national court was required, pursuant to articles 30(2) and 31 of the Directive and article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, to ensure that that failure was limited to that which was strictly necessary. The court had to ensure, in any event, that the citizen was informed of the essence of the grounds in a manner which took due account of the necessary confidentiality of the evidence.”

WLR Daily, 4th June 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Breach of confidence requires infringer having knowledge of breach, rules Supreme Court – OUT-LAW.com

“Former employees of companies that use trade secrets to develop products cannot automatically be found to have acted in breach of confidence if they are involved in rival operations that exploit the protected information, the Supreme Court has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Vestergaard Frandsen A/S and others v Bestnet Europe Ltd and others – WLR Daily

Vestergaard Frandsen A/S and others v Bestnet Europe Ltd and others [2013] UKSC 31; [2013] WLR (D) 200

“A former employee who started a business which developed a product using her former employers’ trade secrets was not liable for breach of confidence in circumstances where she neither knew the identity of those secrets nor that they were being used to develop the new product.”

WLR Daily, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Vestergaard Frandsen A/S (now called mvf3 Apps) and others (Appellants) v Bestnet Europe Limited and others (Respondents) – Supreme Court

Vestergaard Frandsen A/S (now called mvf3 Apps) and others (Appellants) v Bestnet Europe Limited and others (Respondents) [2013] UKSC 31 | UKSC 2011/0144 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

AAA v Associated Newspapers Ltd – WLR Daily

AAA v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 554; [2013] WLR (D) 189

“Where a judge at first instance had carried out the careful balancing exercise required in respect of an individual’s right of privacy and a publisher’s right of freedom of expression, an appellate court should not intervene unless the judge had erred in principle, or reached a conclusion which was plainly wrong or outside the ambit of conclusions that could reasonably be reached.”

WLR Daily, 20th May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Litvinenko inquest close to collapse after coroner rules crucial evidence secret – The Guardian

“The inquest into the death of Alexander Litvinenko is close to collapse after a coroner partially upheld an application by William Hague to keep crucial evidence secret.”

Full story

The Guardian, 17th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Files that may shed light on colonial crimes still kept secret by UK – The Guardian

Posted April 26th, 2013 in confidentiality, crime, documents, government departments, news by tracey

“Secret government files from the final years of the British empire are still being concealed despite a pledge by William Hague, the foreign secretary, that they would be declassified and opened to the public.”

Full story

The Guardian, 26th April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Leveson: counsel’s relationship with barrister did not compromise inquiry – The Guardian

Posted April 24th, 2013 in barristers, confidentiality, inquiries, news, professional conduct by sally

“Lord Justice Leveson has cleared the junior counsel to his inquiry over suggestions she compromised its impartiality by conducting a relationship with the lead barrister for victims of press intrusion.”

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The Guardian, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Gagging orders explained – Daily Telegraph

“Almost 5,000 council workers and civil servants across Britain have been gagged, The Telegraph has learned. But what are gagging orders and how do they work?”

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Daily Telegraph, 2nd April 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

UK files on murdered spy Litvinenko must stay secret, rules coroner – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2013 in confidentiality, disclosure, documents, inquests, intelligence services, murder, news by sally

“Media groups have expressed disappointment after a coroner ruled that secret government files on the murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko would be examined in private.”

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The Guardian, 27th February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Telling tales out of school: balancing public authority employees’ duties of confidentiality with their right to freedom of expression – Employment Law Blog

“A dinner lady told a child’s parents that their daughter had been tied to a fence and whipped with a skipping rope by some other pupils, repeated the same to the press and then was dismissed for breach of confidentiality and acting in a manner likely to bring the school into disrepute. An employment tribunal found the dismissal procedurally unfair but dismissed her whistleblowing claim and reduced her compensation for unfair dismissal on the grounds of Polkey and for contributory fault. The tribunal did not, however, determine the question of whether the claimant could lawfully be disciplined for ‘telling tales out of school’ (as it put it).”

Full story

Employment Law Blog, 27th February 2013

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

Internal Disciplinary Hearings and Injunctions – Littleton Chambers

“Dr Chhabra is a consultant psychiatrist at Broadmoor Hospital. She was alleged by a member of the public to have breached patient confidentiality whilst travelling on a train (an allegation that might cause lawyers who work on trains pause for thought…). Her employer Trust appointed an outside psychiatrist to investigate the allegations under the Trust’s procedures, implementing ‘Maintaining High Professional Standards in the Modern NHS’. The case manager, on reviewing the investigator’s report, decided that the matter should be brought before a disciplinary hearing at which Dr. Chhabra would face allegations of gross misconduct that may have led to dismissal. Separately the Trust referred capability concerns relating to Dr. Chhabra that had also been considered in the investigator’s report, to the National Clinical Assessment Service (‘NCAS’).”

Full story

Littleton Chambers, 12th February 2013

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

What the Supreme Court’s Prudential ruling means for insurers – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 13th, 2013 in claims management, confidentiality, insurance, legal services, news, privilege by sally

“FOCUS: The decision by the Supreme Court last month that legal professional privilege would not apply to advice from non-lawyers confirms how important it is for insurers to maximise the value of legal privilege.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th February 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Justice for dinner lady who told of school bullying – Daily Telegraph

“A school dinner lady who was unfairly sacked after telling a seven-year-old girl’s parents that their daughter had been tied to a fence and hit with a skipping rope has won her two-year battle for compensation.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 12th February 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Final ruling on legal advice confidentiality expected tomorrow – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 22nd, 2013 in accountants, confidentiality, news, privilege by sally

“Lawyers will learn tomorrow whether the confidential protection that attaches to their communication with clients can also be claimed by accountants. A Supreme Court ruling on the issue of legal professional privilege (LPP) is expected tomorrow.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 22nd January 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

‘The Right to Resist: Privilege for Employment Lawyers’ – 11 KBW

Posted January 21st, 2013 in barristers, confidentiality, disclosure, employment, news, privilege by sally

“There are may aspects to the law of privilege, but what they have in common is a right to resist the compulsory disclosure of information. The law of privilege is, at least in part, a manifestation of the law of confidentiality. However, the underlying principle is one of public policy: where privilege applies, the law treats the benefits of full and transparent disclosure of information in the context of litigation as being outweighed by the benefits of giving litigants the right to keep information private.”

Full story (PDF)

11 KBW, 18th January 2013

Source: www.11kbw.com

From base pairs to the bedside: medical confidentiality in a changing world – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 14th, 2012 in confidentiality, data protection, human rights, medical records, news, privacy by tracey

“This week David Cameron announced plans to introduce whole genome mapping for cancer patients and those with rare diseases within the NHS.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 12th December 2012

www.ukhumanrightsblog.com