Category: news

‘The Serious Fraud Office’s use of counsel has been praised by its watchdog for “recent changes [which] have strengthened oversight of expenditure”, inspectors have concluded.

‘However in a report on the SFO’s use of counsel at the pre-charge stage, His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Inspectorate (HMCPSI) today makes six recommendations to help the body improve. These include the introduction of a central record of counsel and their performance to support future decisions.’

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Law Society Gazette, 30th April 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Cusworth J. Sums the husband unilaterally removed from a mortgage account and joint bank accounts during the marriage are held to be part of his entitlement under a pre-nuptial agreement, partially due to conduct findings.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 28th April 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

‘Sophie Corcoran, a GB News commentator, applied to a programme the 10,000 Interns Foundation was running with the Bar Council. She said she was “shocked to discover that the scheme is restricted to applicants of a particular racial background”.’

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The Guardian, 29th April 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A campaigner says it is “very, very scary” to face a £20,000 lawsuit for Facebook posts about an unpleasant smell in a town which has been called the “Penrith Pong”.’

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BBC News, 29th April 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Sussex University has overturned a £585,000 fine by England’s higher education watchdog after the high court rejected claims the university had breached free speech regulations involving its former professor Kathleen Stock.’

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The Guardian, 29th April 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Three accident claims management companies – one of which is owned by a law firm – have been found in breach of the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) rules.’

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Legal Futures, 29th April 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘In R v Skinner [2026] EWCR 4, Mr Skinner was a devout Christian strongly opposed to abortion. He sent two identical letters, attached to e-mails, to Temporary Inspector Fern Graham of the Dorset Police and to the Office of the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner (which was opened by a female office administrator) headed “Reporting mass murder in Ophir Road” – a reference to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service’s clinic in Ophir Road, Bournemouth, which offers pregnancy termination. The letters included what were said to be photographs of aborted foetuses and comments about “brutal killings taking place in Bournemouth” and “terror and torture” suffered by foetuses in the process of termination [1-4]. (He also sent them to the Chief Constable and to local councillors, but those were not the subject of a criminal complaint [7].) He was convicted in respect of the e-mails to Inspector Graham and the Police and Crime Commissioner for improper use of the public electronic communications network, contrary to s.127(1) of the Communications Act 2003 [9 & 10]. He appealed.’

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Law & Religion UK, 28th April 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘All energy companies licensed to operate in Britain will be subject to “baseline” cybersecurity requirements – with higher standards imposed on the most ‘critical’ operators – under proposals set out by the UK government and energy regulator Ofgem.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th April 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘In London Borough of Southwark v The Information Commissioner & Southwark Law Centre [2026] UKFTT 628 (GRC), decided on 28 April 2026, the tribunal partly allowed the council’s appeal against a decision notice issued by the Information Commissioner in October 2025. While the tribunal accepted that the section 36(2)(b)(ii) and 36(2)(c) exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 were engaged, it held that the public interest balance nonetheless favoured disclosure.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th April 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘In this case the Divisional Court set out useful guidance on the legal framework for determining / inferring suicidal intent in circumstances in which there is no direct evidence on the issue and / or speculation that the death may not have been intentional.’

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Quarterly Medical Law Review, 28th April 2026

Source: 1corqmlr.com

‘Philip Kolvin KC outlines the ramifications of a planning judgment on cases where both planning and licensing consents are needed for a new development or a variation.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th April 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘The Family Presiding Judge for the South Eastern Circuit, Ms Justice Henke, has provided judges with a list of considerations relevant to applications to deprive young people of their liberty in an unregulated placement.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th April 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Rosalind English talks to animal law protection solicitor Edie Bowles of the Animal Law Foundation and Veronica Wiggins, who directs campaigns to protect consumers against misleading advertising. We explore the widespread and systemic misrepresentation of our food animals as leading happy healthy free range lives when in fact 85 % of animals are subject to inhumane conditions in factory farms.’

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Law Pod UK, 28th April 2026

Source: audioboom.com

‘The potential use of computers in the law has been well understood for many years. There is a Society for Computers and the Law of longstanding. Lord Justice Brooke was an early proponent of it in the 1990s and today, although a surprising amount of paper can still be seen in courts and legal offices, in reality the bulk of legal work is done on, or at least involves, computers. However until recently the computers one encountered in the law were of the traditional kind, in other words they did not involve machine-learning or so called artificial intelligence or “AI”.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 24th April 2026

Source: www.judiciary.uk

‘In Scotland, the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 provides for an inspection regime for funeral premises, a code of practice for funeral directors and a funeral director licensing scheme; however, there is no such scheme of regulation in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland.’

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Law & Religion UK, 24th April 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘The court battle between the Solicitors Regulation Authority and global practice Dentons over allegations of historical money laundering breaches could return to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal following a Court of Appeal ruling today. In Dentons UK and Middle East v Solicitors Regulation Authority, three judges today upheld the High Court’s quashing of a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal decision to dismiss charges of a breach of SRA principle 7.’

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Law Society Gazette, 27th April 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Male judges sitting in the Court of Appeal show more confidence than women in applying for Supreme Court roles “even if they do not necessary fulfil all the criteria”, the Supreme Court’s president has told peers.

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Law Society Gazette, 24th April 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘A deputy High Court judge has been issued with formal advice for misconduct after he interrupted so much it amounted to “excessive intervention” and raised his voice to a barrister while she was making submissions.’

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Law Society Gazette, 27th April 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The Bar Standards Board has revealed for the first time that it has 10 open investigations related to the Post Office Horizon scandal. The regulator has previously said that it is looking into the conduct of barristers who advised the Post Office, but never stated how many investigations were live. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has 20 live investigations into solicitors and firms.’

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Law Society Gazette, 27th April 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Costs Judge Whalan. Unsuccessful application by the claimant for a s 70 Solicitors Act 1974 assessment of the invoices delivered by the defendant law firm. Invoices were Interim Statute Bills, and no special circumstances were found to justify assessment by the court.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 24th April 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com