Bin lorry driver jailed for schoolgirl’s death – The Guardian

‘A bin lorry driver who killed a 14-year-old girl after pulling on to a treacherous main road without looking and hitting a school minibus has been jailed.’

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The Guardian, 26th November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Jailed rapist offered the chance to see his victim’s child – Daily Telegraph

‘A council offered a jailed sex offender the chance to play a part in the future of the child of a woman he raped, it has emerged. The rapist, who was part of a grooming gang in the North of the country and has no parental responsibility for his son, was contacted by the local authority to give him a chance to see the boy, a Times investigation has uncovered.’

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Daily Telegraph, 27th November 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Police ‘picking up pieces of mental health system’, says watchdog – The Guardian

Posted November 27th, 2018 in budgets, mental health, news, ombudsmen, police, statistics by sally

‘Overstretched police forces are having to “pick up the pieces of a broken mental health system” on top of tackling crime, the emergency services watchdog has found. More than half of all mental health patients who need help in a place of safety are taken there in a police car rather than an ambulance, according to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services.’

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The Guardian, 27th November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Uber fined after hackers download 2.7 million customers’ data – The Independent

Posted November 27th, 2018 in computer crime, data protection, disclosure, fines, news, privacy, taxis by sally

‘Uber has been fined £385,000 for failing to protect customers’ information during a cyber attack, in a “serious breach” of UK data protection law. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) found Uber was guilty of “a series of avoidable data security flaws” that allowed the personal details of around 2.7million UK customers to be accessed and downloaded by attackers.’

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The Independent, 27th November 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Deal with proportionality at start of assessment, says costs judge – Litigation Futures

Posted November 26th, 2018 in costs, news, proportionality by sally

‘Proportionality should be addressed at the beginning of an assessment, and not the end, because it should inform the reasonableness of the costs, a costs judge has suggested.’

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Litigation Futures, 26th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Sumption: Bar of future will be smaller and more specialist – Legal Futures

Posted November 26th, 2018 in advocacy, barristers, judiciary, legal aid, news by sally

‘There will be fewer and more specialist barristers in the future, Lord Sumption has predicted, as he criticised some of the Bar’s actions in response to legal aid cuts.’

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Legal Futures, 26th November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Gang convicted of violent attack which saw corrosive substance squirted at bystanders – Crown Prosecution Service

Posted November 26th, 2018 in gangs, guilty pleas, hazardous substances, news, violent disorder by sally

‘Nine men have been convicted of carrying out a violent attack which saw a corrosive substance squirted at bystanders trying to stop a street assault.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Stop and search has no real impact on reducing knife crime, research suggests – The Independent

Posted November 26th, 2018 in news, offensive weapons, police, stop and search by sally

‘Stop and search does not significantly reduce knife crime, research has suggested, as the home secretary and senior police officers call for the power to be used more widely.’

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The Independent, 25th November 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

New ombudsman gives rail commuters a fast track for complaints – The Guardian

Posted November 26th, 2018 in complaints, news, ombudsmen, railways by sally

‘Passengers dissatisfied with how train companies handle complaints can now appeal to an independent arbiter, as a new rail ombudsman service comes into force today.
The ombudsman will have binding powers over train firms should it uphold a customer complaint.’

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The Guardian, 26th November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Medical device rules need ‘drastic change’ to protect patients – BBC News

Posted November 26th, 2018 in experiments, health & safety, medical treatment, news by sally

‘Urgent and drastic changes to the rules around medical devices, such as pacemakers, are needed to protect patients, according to the Royal College of Surgeons. It wants a register of every device in every patient set up so doctors know if new innovations are causing harm.’

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BBC News, 26th November 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

City watchdog steps up its inquiries into ‘crypto’ firms – Daily Telegraph

‘As the price of the controversial “cryptocurrency” Bitcoin plunges, new figures show that the City watchdog is stepping up its investigations into the murky sector.’

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Daily Telegraph, 25th November 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Google settled racism case from contractor ‘treated like a terrorist’ – The Guardian

Posted November 26th, 2018 in compensation, harassment, internet, news, racism, terrorism by sally

‘Google was forced to settle a claim of race discrimination by one of its contractors after he claimed he was repeatedly treated as a terror suspect while working on a covert research project to navigate shopping centres for Google Maps.’

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The Guardian, 25th November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Facebook documents seized by MPs investigating privacy breach – BBC News

Posted November 26th, 2018 in data protection, documents, internet, news, parliament, privacy, search & seizure by sally

‘A cache of Facebook documents has been seized by MPs investigating the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. Rarely used parliamentary powers were used to demand that the boss of a US software firm hand over the details.’

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BBC News, 25th November 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sacked 88-year-old woman sues the NHS for age discrimination – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 26th, 2018 in age discrimination, hospitals, news, unfair dismissal by sally

‘An 88-year-old secretary has become the oldest person to sue the NHS for age discrimination after she was sacked despite not having a sick day in 10 years.’

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Daily Telegraph, 25th November 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Facebook appeals against Cambridge Analytica fine – BBC News

Posted November 23rd, 2018 in appeals, data protection, fines, internet, news, ombudsmen, privacy by sally

‘Facebook has appealed against a fine imposed on it by the UK’s data watchdog after the Cambridge Analytica scandal.’

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BBC News, 21st November 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

BSB gains power to intervene in barristers’ practices – Legal Futures

Posted November 23rd, 2018 in barristers, disciplinary procedures, documents, enforcement, news, regulations by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) now has the power to intervene in individual barristers’ practices among a host of other new regulatory tools that have been approved by Parliament.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Scrapping juries in rape trials risks rise in miscarriages of justice – The Guardian

‘There is no evidence juries are failing their duty. Abolishing them could increase pressure on judges to boost conviction rates.’

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The Guardian, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Proposed legislation to create heterosexual civil partnerships will still not create a “common law” marriage – Family Law

‘In June 2018 the Supreme Court ruled in favour of a heterosexual couple who had argued that their inability to formalise their relationship through a civil partnership was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Prime Minister indicated in October that she would legislate to give all couples the same choices as to how to achieve legal recognition of their relationship for the first time, writes Ashford’s family solicitor Emma Mackay.’

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Family Law, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Barrister reprimanded for drunken behaviour at Bar Mess event – Legal Futures

Posted November 23rd, 2018 in barristers, disciplinary procedures, drunk and disorderly, fines, law firms, news by sally

‘A barrister has been reprimanded and fined for his drunken behaviour towards a pupil at an informal Bar Mess event.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Improvement clauses needing improvement – Nearly Legal

Posted November 23rd, 2018 in appeals, drafting, housing, injunctions, landlord & tenant, news, repairs by sally

‘An object lesson in the need for clarity in tenancy agreements. This was an appeal from a first instance decision of HHJ Luba QC. Mr H was Network’s assured tenant of a flat in a block used for a sheltered housing scheme. Following a fire safety inspection, Network proposed to replace all the flat entrance doors. Mr H would not give access to Network to do so unless certain conditions were met. No agreement was reached and Network applied for an injunction for access.’

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Nearly Legal, 22nd November 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk