Category: news

‘People seeking compensation for the Windrush scandal are fundamentally disadvantaged compared with those claiming in other schemes because of a lack of funded legal support, legal reform charity JUSTICE claims today [18th August]. JUSTICE and Shaila Pal, director of clinical legal education at Kings College London, compared the plight of Windrush claimants compared with their counterparts affected by the Post Office and infected blood scandals. Each is entitled to claim from a government-backed compensation scheme but the authors found inconsistencies in the application of evidential standards and decision-making across all schemes.’

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Law Society Gazette, 18th August 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The judgment in R (HVF) v Lift Schools [2026] EWHC 2088 (Admin) spans numerous issues: it questions schools’ general preference for redacted still CCTV images over the use of unredacted CCTV video footage, suggesting that there are circumstances where this preference may call for the quashing of a decision to permanently exclude; it reminds Governors that their function is to come to their own decision and use the headteacher as witness/adviser, rather than to deferentially review the headteacher’s decision; it comments on how giving reasons is fundamental to giving participants confidence in the system, particularly when there are concerns regarding discrimination; and identified key areas of statutory guidance that may require updating.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th August 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘A deaf woman was given the wrong vaccine because she was not provided with a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter at her doctor’s surgery, a report says.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) said disabled people were being let down by inaccessible communications.’

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BBC News, 19th August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Sheffield United’s owners face a winding-up petition in the High Court on Wednesday [19th August] which could mean the club incur a 12-point deduction in the Championship this season.

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BBC News, 18th August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘In 2023, the UK Government supported Jade’s Law, the suspension of parental responsibility (PR) after a parent murders the other parent. The law was born out of Jade’s parents’ plea for legal autonomy while caring for their four grandchildren as their father exerted control from behind prison walls. PR termination by family courts in England and Wales has, throughout the Children Act 1989, been a rare phenomenon, while PR acquisitions are common. This article poses the hypothesis that the relationship between the presumption of parental involvement, PR, and more recently so-called ‘parental alienation’ feed into the courts’ resistance to terminate PR. Even after serious criminal convictions or extended parental abandonment, this hesitance remains. Seven PR termination cases and two of PR restriction involving domestic abuse were analysed between 1995 and 2023. Mothers were sometimes penalised for obstructing parental involvement and silenced with ‘alienation’ counter-allegations. PR operates within an ‘at all costs’ culture that was reinforced by the presumption under Section 1(2A). Protective mothers’ and children’s resistance to the involvement of perpetrators is framed as ‘alienating’ behaviours. It creates a dangerous power tool that legally entraps women and children in endless patriarchal cycles of violence and control.’

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Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 17th August 2026

Source: www.tandfonline.com

‘There has been a sharp rise in the number of people living in legal aid deserts for family and criminal law, while around 14.5m people overall are in deserts for at least one primary area of practice, according to new research.’

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Legal Futures, 18th August 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Andy Burnham is under pressure to intervene in a privately run prison that is seeking to recruit custody officers on zero-hours contracts for the first time across England and Wales’ prison estate.’

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The Guardian, 18th August 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘In this episode of LawPod UK, Lucy McCann is joined by Professor Valena Beety, legal scholar, innocence litigator and former federal prosecutor, to discuss her new book Pink Crime.
Professor Beety explores her concept of ‘Pink Crime’ a distinctive category of wrongful convictions of women and queer people, often in cases where no crime actually occurred, by examining historic cases and contemporary prosecutions involving pregnancy loss, parenting decisions, and queer identity.’

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Law Pod UK, 17th August 2026

Source: audioboom.com

‘A man who was creating an illegal firearm at home using a 3D printer has been jailed for four years.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 10th August 2026

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

‘Below is a consultation paper seeking views on proposals as to how the Senior President of Tribunals should exercise powers to amend the Practice Direction: Panel Composition in the First-tier Tribunal, Property Chamber. This consultation is only concerned with Residential Property. [The deadline for responses to this Consultation is Friday 25 September 2026].’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 10th August 2026

Source: www.judiciary.uk

‘The Court of Appeal has continued to emphasise the strictness of the approach which should be applied by courts and tribunals when determining whether individuals challenging immigration decisions can properly demonstrate an existence of family life engaging Article 8 ECHR protection. The case is Entry Clearance Officer v FA [2026] EWCA Civ 1014 (30 July 2026).’

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Administrative Court Blog, 11th August 2026

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘As the world becomes more digital, Barbara Vinagre Mota examines international research into the mental health consequences of judges’ exposure to graphic and immersive evidence, highlighting the importance of support systems’

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Counsel, 17th August 2026

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘Ever spared a thought for the legal minds drafting our statutes and Bills, largely in obscurity? John F Wilson explores the craft, influence and enduring mystique of legislative drafting’

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Counsel, 17th August 2026

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘A circuit judge’s ruling on costs penalties for unreasonable behaviour ‘would blow the scheme of the small claims track to bits’ if found to be correct, three Court of Appeal judges have ruled. In Steven Orton v Barclays Bank, the judges allowed an appeal against a ruling that the conduct of a party who discontinued a mis-selling claim shortly before trial amounted to ‘unreasonable behaviour’ under the Civil Procedure Rules.’

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Law Society Gazette, 14th August 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The High Court has agreed an application by the London Borough of Brent to withdraw a deprivation of liberty order (DOL), even though the child’s guardian opposed this.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th August 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘The High Court has refused an application for judicial review of West Oxfordshire District Council’s decision not to become embroiled in a neighbour dispute.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th August 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘The prime minister has been urged not to dash the hopes of thousands of prisoners trapped on indefinite jail terms after he pledged to find a resolution to the “long-running injustice”.’

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The Independent, 15th August 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘The possession of child-like sex dolls could be banned in England and Wales under proposed draft legislation.’

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The Independent, 17th August 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘More women will die if ministers include domestic abusers in the early prison release scheme, the parents of a woman murdered by her partner shortly after he was freed have warned.’

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The Guardian, 17th August 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A man who killed his wife and refuses to reveal where her body is cannot be freed from prison, after the High Court overturned the Parole Board’s decision to release him.’

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BBC News, 14th August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk