Hundreds of homeless people fined and imprisoned in England and Wales – The Guardian

Posted May 21st, 2018 in fines, homelessness, imprisonment, news by sally

‘Growing numbers of vulnerable homeless people are being fined, given criminal convictions and even imprisoned for begging and rough sleeping, the Guardian can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 20th May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Police officer who Tasered force’s race relations adviser is cleared by a judge – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 21st, 2018 in assault, news, police, weapons by sally

‘A police officer has been found not guilty of assault after Tasering a police race relations adviser in the face having mistaken him for a suspect.’

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Daily Telegraph, 18th May 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

New internet laws pledged as social media firms snub talks – BBC News

Posted May 21st, 2018 in bills, data protection, internet, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

‘The culture secretary has agreed he does not have enough power to police social media firms after admitting only four of 14 invited to talks showed up.’

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BBC News, 20th May 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Emotions run high as Grenfell Tower fire inquiry opens – The Guardian

Posted May 21st, 2018 in fire, health & safety, inquiries, news by sally

‘Almost a year after the Grenfell Tower fire, the first substantive hearings of the inquiry into the disaster will open on Monday with tributes from friends and relatives of the 72 victims.’

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The Guardian, 21st May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Murder and fraud: What happened to Carole Packman? – BBC News

Posted May 21st, 2018 in fraud, insurance, murder, news, parole by sally

‘For years Sam Gillingham believed her mum had walked out on her, but the truth began to emerge when her father tried to fake his own death. Russell Causley is now serving life for his wife’s murder. As his sentence is reviewed by the Parole Board, his daughter fears she may never know why her father murdered her mother.’

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BBC News, 21st May 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

A life ‘completely destroyed’ by one paragraph of immigration law – The Guardian

Posted May 21st, 2018 in immigration, income tax, news by sally

‘Paragraph 322(5) has devastating conditions, as Sidharth Vijay found when he made a simple correction to his tax return.’

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The Guardian, 20th May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Representation of children in public law proceedings – Ministry of Justice

Posted May 18th, 2018 in children, guardianship, legal representation, news by sally

‘Children subject to public law cases are usually represented by both a publicly-funded legal representative and a Cafcass guardian, known as the ‘tandem model’ of representation. This research explored how this model is working in practice during public law proceedings, and whether any reforms to the model are feasible or appropriate to ensure the rights of the child are safeguarded, efficient judicial case management is supported and public resources are effectively allocated.’

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Ministry of Justice, 17th May 2018

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

Travelling home with your baby after surrogacy abroad – the options – Family Law

Posted May 18th, 2018 in children, citizenship, immigration, news, passports, surrogacy by sally

‘Your most pressing concern if you have a baby born through international surrogacy may be how quickly you can get home after he or she is born. This is often the first question we get asked when advising parents planning overseas surrogacy. UK immigration law in surrogacy cases is complex because there is no clear single process which applies to everyone, everywhere. There are number of different possible paths and which is the best one for you will depend on your personal circumstances and the country in which your baby is born.’

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Family Law, 18th May 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

CPS fined £325k for losing DVDs containing victim interviews – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 18th, 2018 in encryption, fines, news, victims, video recordings by sally

‘The Crown Prosecution Service has been fined £325,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office for losing unencrypted DVDs containing interviews with 15 victims of child sex abuse to be used at a trial. The sanction comes just over two years after being fined £200,000 for losing sensitive material.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th May 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Oxford student wrongly accused of rape endured two years of hell because police were too busy with Jimmy Savile cases – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 18th, 2018 in Crown Prosecution Service, delay, evidence, news, police, prosecutions, rape, reports by sally

‘An Oxford University student spent two years on bail accused of rape because police claimed they were too busy dealing with other reports in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, a damning report has revealed.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th May 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Man jailed for murder of bartender in London park at Christmas – The Guardian

Posted May 18th, 2018 in guilty pleas, murder, news, sentencing by sally

‘A man has been jailed for life with a minimum of 29 years at the after he admitted killing a bartender in a park as she made her way home at Christmas.’

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The Guardian, 17th May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Competition watchdog launches investigation into Sainsbury’s-Asda merger – The Independent

Posted May 18th, 2018 in competition, mergers, news by sally

‘The Competition and Markets Authority said it will be considering whether the merger could result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the UK for goods or services.’

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The Independent, 18th May 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office suspends immigration checks on UK bank accounts – The Guardian

Posted May 18th, 2018 in banking, immigration, news by sally

‘The Home Office is to suspend controversial immigration checks on thousands of bank accounts in the wake of the Windrush scandal. The department is in the process of contacting banks and building societies to instruct them to reduce the scope of the checks, which were introduced as part of Theresa May’s plans to create a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants.’

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The Guardian, 17th May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Former policeman jailed after filming himself raping woman – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 18th, 2018 in news, rape, sentencing, video recordings by sally

‘A former special constable filmed himself raping a drunken woman who thought she was having sex with another man, a court heard.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th May 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Woman whose acid attack on ex-lover left him in such pain he took own life is cleared of murder – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 18th, 2018 in hazardous substances, murder, news, suicide by sally

‘A jealous woman whose ex-boyfriend ended his life after she threw acid over him has been cleared of murder as photographs emerged of the scorched bed where he was attacked.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th May 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Met Police ordered to hold disciplinary hearing for officer who shot man dead during attempted prison break – The Independent

Posted May 18th, 2018 in disciplinary procedures, firearms, fugitive offenders, news, police by sally

‘A police watchdog has provoked outrage among critics by ordering a gross misconduct hearing for an officer who shot a man dead during an attempted prison break.’

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The Independent, 17th May 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Village Green – Local Government Law

Posted May 17th, 2018 in commons, land registration, local government, news by sally

‘In Cotham School v Bristol City Council (2018) EWHC 1022 (Admin) the Council is the owner of the freehold interest in Stoke Lodge Playing Fields. It is also the Commons Registration Authority empowered to register land as a town or village green pursuant to Section 15 Commons Act 2006. In 2011 application was made to register the land as a town or village green. The applicant was acting on behalf of an unincorporated association known as “Save Stoke Lodge Parkland”. Objections to the application were received. In the face of conflicting views about whether the land should be registered the registration authority decided that it would appoint an Inspector to make a recommendation about whether the land should be registered. In May 2013 the Inspector issued a Report in which he recommended that the land should be registered as a green. However, that recommendation was not implemented. In the years immediately following the publication of the Report there were a number of cases proceeding through the Courts which were relevant to the issues raised in this case. Ultimately a decision was taken that before a decision was made as to whether the land should be registered the Inspector should conduct a non-statutory Public Inquiry at which oral evidence would be given. In June and July 2016 the Inspector conducted such an Inquiry. In October 2016 the Inspector produced a comprehensive written Report. In it, he recommended that the land should not be registered as a green. He expressed the view that one aspect of the statutory test for registration had not been satisfied. The Inspector’s Report was considered at the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee of the Council in December 2016. In the event the Committee resolved (on the Chair’s casting vote) to reject the Inspector’s recommendation and to grant the application for registration.’

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Local Government Law, 16th May 2018

Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com

New UK trade secrets laws imminent – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 17th, 2018 in consultations, EC law, intellectual property, legislation, news, regulations by sally

‘New trade secrets laws are scheduled to be published by the UK government before the end of this month.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th May 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Delayed service sufficient to strike out freezing orders – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 17th, 2018 in appeals, banking, delay, documents, freezing injunctions, news, striking out by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision to strike out freezing orders granted on behalf of French bank Société Générale (SocGen), after finding that the bank had taken too long to issue the relevant claim forms.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th May 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Morrisons group action: claimants win, but get only 40% of their costs – Panopticon

Posted May 17th, 2018 in class actions, compensation, costs, data protection, news by sally

‘Needless to say, group actions for data protection breaches will generally be shaped by financial considerations. Those are partly about compensation, but also about costs. To make it worthwhile, claimants need not only to win and be awarded compensation, but also to get their costs covered, or at least not have their costs eat too far into their compensation. On this issue, today’s costs judgment in the Morrisons litigation is novel, interesting and instructive in practice.’

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Panopticon, 16th May 2018

Source: panopticonblog.com