Man wrongly charged in Crown Prosecution Service’s ‘homophobic witch-hunt’ – The Independent

“A man whose life was ruined when he was charged with child sex offences after looking at legal gay pornography in a hotel room has accused the police and Crown Prosecution Service of a ‘homophobic witch-hunt’ after his case was finally thrown out. The defendant endured a ‘two-year nightmare’ after being arrested in front of his family, charged with 10 offences almost a year later and repeatedly bailed, before every charge was dropped. If convicted he would have faced jail and been forced to sign the sex offenders’ register. His father died while he was awaiting trial.”

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The Independent, 1st November 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Press regulation: The 10 major questions – BBC News

“The Royal Charter on press regulation is expected to be approved later. What are the major questions that have defined the debate?”

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BBC News, 30th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘British justice on trial’: Judge urges phone-hacking jury to consider only the evidence presented to them – The Independent

“The jury that will decide the guilt or innocence of Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson and six other defendants was sworn in at the Old Bailey with a warning from the judge that ‘British justice is on trial’.”

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The Independent, 30th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Failing to inform online consumers about cancellation rights should be criminal offence, say trading standards bodies – OUT-LAW.com

“Businesses that sell goods and services to consumers over the internet should face criminal penalties if they fail to display details on cancellation rights, the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) and Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers (ACTSO) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th October 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

SFO could snoop on communications to uncover evidence of corruption, says director – OUT-LAW.com

“The director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has warned that the agency may use powers of surveillance to uncover evidence of corruption within corporates.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 25th October 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Facebook sexual groomer Arfon Roberts-Griffiths jailed – BBC News

“A man who posed as a teenager on the Facebook social network in a bid to contact schoolgirls has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.”

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BBC News, 25th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Internet access in jails ‘can cut reoffending’ – The Independent

Posted October 28th, 2013 in internet, news, prisons, recidivists, rehabilitation by sally

“Prisoners should have access to computers and the internet to help with re-integration into society and reduce re-offending once they are released, according to research.”

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The Independent, 28th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Lord McAlpine settles libel action with Alan Davies over Twitter comment – The Guardian

Posted October 25th, 2013 in costs, damages, defamation, internet, news by sally

“Lord McAlpine has settled his libel action with Alan Davies over a tweet relating to false child sex abuse allegations, with the comedian agreeing to pay £15,000 in damages and issuing a warning to users of the social media service.”

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The Guardian, 24th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Advances in open justice in England and Wales – Speech by the Master of the Rolls

“Master of the Rolls speech: Hong Kong lecture – 18 October 2013.”

Full speech

Judiciary of England and Wales, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Lord McAlpine libel row with Sally Bercow formally settled in high court – The Guardian

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in damages, defamation, internet, news by tracey

“Sally Bercow has apologised for ‘irresponsible use of Twitter’ and agreed to pay undisclosed damages to peer, court told.”

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The Guardian, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Devout beekeepers win right to refuse switchover to online VAT returns – The Independent

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in documents, internet, news, religious discrimination, taxation, tribunals, VAT by tracey

“Two devoutly religious beekeepers who reject modern technology have won the right not to fill in their VAT returns online after claiming it breached their human rights.”

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The Independent, 21st October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Fraud cases up 60 per cent as criminals head online – Daily Telegrah

Posted October 21st, 2013 in fraud, internet, news, statistics by sally

“The number of frauds recorded by police has risen by nearly 60 per cent in five years, according to newly released official crime figures.”

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Daily Telegraph, 17th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

New cookies guidance highlights intra-EU differences on data protection definitions, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 21st, 2013 in advertising, consent, data protection, EC law, internet, interpretation, news, privacy by sally

“New guidance issued by an EU privacy advisory body on ‘cookies’ highlights a continuing lack of harmonisation on definitions central to European data protection laws, which are interpreted differently across different EU countries, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th October 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

UK’s top prosecutor defends journalists who break law in public interest – The Guardian

“Britain’s most senior prosecutor has launched a robust defence of journalists who break the law pursuing investigations that have a genuine public interest. Legal guidelines had been drafted, he said, to protect reporters.”

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The Guardian, 18th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lord Neuberger on “Justice in an age of austerity” – CrimeLine

“Justice – Tom Sargant memorial lecture 2013, 15th October 2013.”

Full speech

CrimeLine, 15th October 2013

Source: www.crimeline.info

Transforming the services of the Office of the Public Guardian – enabling digital by default – Ministry of Justice

“Our consultation paper ‘Transforming the Services of the Office of the Public Guardian’, published on 27 July 2012, invited comments on a range of issues related to the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) aspiration to deliver its services digitally by default. In our response, published in January 2013, we set out the changes that we would complete by April 2013. This included reducing the statutory waiting period for registering a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) form from six weeks to four weeks and amending the regulations to allow court appointed deputies to change bond provider without the need to apply to the Court of Protection. However, other changes required further policy development or were dependant on the OPG replacement IT system being in place in 2014.”

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Ministry of Justice, 15th October 2013

Source: www.consult.justice.gov.uk

High Court bans TVCatchup from streaming broadcasters’ content over mobile networks – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 16th, 2013 in copyright, EC law, internet, interpretation, media, news, telecommunications by sally

“Three UK broadcasters have won the right to prevent an online streaming service provider from retransmitting the TV programmes they show to users of mobile devices via any ‘mobile telephony network’.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th October 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Internet trolls and why Strasbourg doesn’t want to get involved – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 15th, 2013 in defamation, freedom of expression, human rights, internet, news by sally

“This case concerned the liability of an Internet news portal for offensive comments that were posted by readers below one of its online news articles. The following summary is based on the Strasbourg Court’s press release.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 14th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Wider audience targeted as lasting power of attorney (LPA) process goes online – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 15th, 2013 in consultations, internet, powers of attorney, press releases by sally

“A wider range of people should ensure they have lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) – not just the elderly – Justice Minister Lord McNally said today.”

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Ministry of Justice, 15th October 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

BSB issues statement after Twitter confusion over judicial review costs – The Lawyer

“The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has issued a statement about the costs of a judicial review into the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) following widespread outrage and confusion on Twitter.”

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The Lawyer, 11th October 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Related link: Bar Standards Board Statement on costs and the judicial review of QASA