Driving test translator jailed over 200 exam cheats – BBC News
“A Chinese translator in Birmingham has been jailed for helping 200 learner drivers cheat on theory exams.”
BBC News, 16th July 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: interpreters
Will Article 6 come to the rescue after the legal aid reforms? – UK Human Rights Blog
“The absence of legal representation for defendants to an action for debt who contended they could not speak English resulted in the High Court granting an application that the trial be adjourned for a second time. The judgment is a good example of the interaction of Article 6 ECHR (right to a fair trial) with the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).”
UK Human Rights Blog, 26th June 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Justice ministry outsourcing could lead to ‘train crash’, says watchdog – The Guardian
“The contracting out of key services by the Ministry of Justice could end in a ‘multiple train crash’ because the department displays naivety and lacks the capacity to understand what it is doing, according to a parliamentary watchdog.”
The Guardian, 20th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Regina v Applied Language Solutions Ltd – WLR Daily
Regina v Applied Language Solutions Ltd: [2013] EWCA Crim 326; [2013] WLR (D) 123
“Where a company had an agreement with the Ministry of Justice to provide interpreters, including interpreters for criminal proceedings, it was essential that an interpreter was provided on every occasion when one was required. If there was successive non-attendance of an individual interpreter or successive failures in systems a court was entitled to view that as amounting to serious misconduct rendering the company liable for the costs thereby incurred by the Crown Prosecution Service and the defence.”
WLR Daily, 25th March 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Interpreter company wins costs order appeal – Law Society’s Gazette
“The company contracted by the Ministry of Justice to provide court interpreters has won an appeal against a decision to award a third-party costs order after a sentencing hearing was adjourned due an interpreter’s non-appearance.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 26th March 2013
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Trials collapsing thanks to ‘shambolic’ privatisation of translation services – The Guardian
“The privatisation of court interpreting services has been ‘shambolic’, MPs warn saying it has caused more trials to collapse and suspects to be remanded unnecessarily in custody.”
The Guardian, 6th February 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
More trials being disrupted over interpreter failings – The Guardian
“Nearly 200 trials were disrupted or postponed in England and Wales in the first quarter of the year because interpreters provided by a private firm failed to appear, according to a damning report by the select committee.”
The Guardian, 14th December 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Courtroom chaos’: Government accused of endangering justice by using cut-price courtroom interpreters – The Independent
“Britain’s leading translators today accused the government of endangering justice with a cut-price private contract for courtroom interpreters, which is ‘dangerous to the interests of public safety.'”
The Independent, 23rd October 2012
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Court interpreting criticised as ‘wholly inadequate’ in damning NAO report – The Guardian
“The Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) privatisation of court interpreting services became ‘fully operational before it was ready’ and was initially ‘wholly inadequate’, according to a highly critical report by the National Audit Office.”
The Guardian, 12th September 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Court interpreter checks ‘non-existent’ – BBC News
“Interpreters from a private company have been working in courts in England and Wales without the required criminal record checks, the BBC has been told.”
BBC News, 9th August 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Trial suspended as bogus interpreter stands in for wife – Daily Telegraph
“A court descended into farce when a man translating vital evidence revealed he was only there because his wife – the real interpreter – was too busy.”
Daily Telegraph, 20th July 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
MPs to investigate ‘underperforming’ firm awarded £300m court monopoly – The Guardian
“The way in which a private contractor was awarded a £300m monopoly of court interpreting services throughout England and Wales and the firm’s ‘underperformance’ are to be investigated by MPs.”
The Guardian, 20th July 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Court cases hampered by translation failures – Daily Telegraph
“Up to 50 court cases a day were delayed or postponed because of failures by a translation contractor to provide an adequate service,.”
Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Plan to cut spending on court interpreters leads to farce – The Independent
“A defendant dubbed a ‘pervert’ by mistake, a rabbit applying to be a Czech language specialist and solicitors using the Google Translate website to understand their clients: the debacle surrounding court interpreters has had its amusing moments.”
The Independent, 21st May 2012
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Interpreting error leads to £25,000 retrial costs – The Lawyer
“A trial at a London court collapsed last Friday after it was revealed that an interpreter employed by Applied Language Solutions had made a grave interpreting error.”
The Lawyer, 17th April 2012
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Court staff forced to rely on Google Translate – Daily Telegraph
“Court staff and lawyers have been forced to use Google Translate to communicate with non-English speaking defendants because of problems with the new interpreter service, it has been claimed.”
Daily Telegraph, 27th March 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Private court interpretation company ‘should face contempt proceedings’ – The Guardian
“The attorney general has been urged to bring contempt of court proceedings against the private contractor awarded a monopoly to provide interpreters to all courts in England and Wales.”
The Guardian, 19th March 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Violent clients, traumatised victims, late payment – the life of a court interpreter – The Guardian
“Very few people know what the job of a professional court interpreter involves. ALS is trying to get it done on the cheap.”
The Guardian, 15th March 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
MoJ ditches new court interpreting system in face of major backlash – The Lawyer
“The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has decided to allow courts to revert to the old system of selecting interpreters from the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) in order to avoid further hearings being adjourned as a result of interpreters from a new agency failing to turn up to court.”
The Lawyer, 23rd February 2012
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Courts given green light to hire own interpreters as ALS struggles to cope – The Guardian
“A £300m private contract providing interpreters to all courts across England and Wales has been partially abandoned two weeks after being launched.”
The Guardian, 16th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
