Category: news

‘In Rydon Group Holdings Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2025] EWHC 2182 (Admin), the High Court dismissed a judicial review challenge brought by Rydon, a developer criticised in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report. The Court held that the government’s decisions, principally the designation of the Claimant as “unfit” to carry out remediation works, were contractual in nature. As such, they were governed by private law and not amenable to judicial review, save under allegations of fraud, corruption, or bad faith. Rydon remains excluded from carrying out the remediation works and is liable to reimburse costs through the Building Safety Fund (BSF).’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th September 2025

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘On 31 July, the final day of Trinity term, and so of the legal year, there was published by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal an OPEN judgment in a case entitled A Complainant v The Secret Intelligence Service (“the MI6 case”). In recent years the IPT has become a much more visible contributor to the legal landscape, and its judgments are often the best source of information about the law applicable to the work of the security and intelligence agencies (“SIAs”), and to other bodies enjoying access to powers of surveillance etc. This judgment, however, was notably laconic. It informed the reader that the Tribunal had ruled on “an issue of law” regarding the powers conferred on the Secret Intelligence Service (“MI6”) by section 1(1) of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (the short statute which first gave MI6 a statutory basis and which governs it to this day). It had ruled, the judgment stated in its sole substantive paragraph, that the provision in question “conferred on SIS the vires to engage in the tasks necessary to fulfil the functions specified in the subsection (1)(a) and (b)… irrespective of whether those tasks took place in the United Kingdom or overseas.” This post considers some of the background to, and possible implications of, this recognition of what we might label MI6’s “functional vires”.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association Blog, 9th September 2025

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

‘Personal injury lawyers will be well familiar with the concept of contributory negligence. This article is intended to give guidance to practitioners in more unusual cases where assessment of contributory negligence may be more complex than it first appears, focussing particularly on road traffic claims brought by vulnerable road users.’

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Ropewalk Personal Injury Blog, 9th September 2025

Source: ropewalk.co.uk

‘Removing juries from complex fraud trials is a “red herring” that risks exposing judges to personal attack and creating added delay, City lawyers have warned.’

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Law Society Gazette, 8th September 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The issue of AI-generated fake case citations, commonly referred to as “AI hallucinations,” gained notable attention through the combined High Court cases of Ayinde v London Borough of Haringey and Al-Haroun v Qatar National Bank [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin). However, it may be less widely appreciated that AI hallucinations have already been causing significant issues internationally for some time, particularly in the US. But it’s not just fake cases; AI hallucinations can take various forms. The Natural and Artificial Intelligence in Law Blog (“NAIL Blog”), which explores the intersection between AI and law, has identified eight of the most common types of AI hallucination affecting the legal profession and lawyers should ensure they are acquainted with each one.’

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Counsel, 8th September 2025

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘The proscribing of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act is an assault on the English language and on civil liberties, argues Paul Harris SC, founder of the Bar Human Rights Committee’

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Counsel, 8th September 2025

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘Efforts to improve judicial diversity have gained momentum in recent years, with growing recognition that a representative bench is essential for public confidence. That will not happen without focused work. To address this, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and its partners in the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF) have implemented a range of initiatives and support pathways aimed at increasing appointments from underrepresented groups.”

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Counsel, 8th September 2025

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘What can we as individual barristers, and as members of chambers, do to prevent, protect and prosecute VAWG? It is beyond urgent that we answer this question resoundingly and effectively, writes Celestine Greenwood’

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Counsel, 8th September 2025

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘The appointment of King’s Counsel (KC) represents one of the most significant milestones in a barrister’s career. Yet, for many disabled barristers, structural and procedural barriers remain deeply embedded in the selection process. While formal equality duties exist in law, the interplay of evaluation mechanisms, practical adjustments, and institutional culture create complex obstacles that demand scrutiny.’

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Counsel, 8th September 2025

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘A pub manager who claimed her boss suggested she was associated with Nazi ideology after she didn’t buy him a coffee has received a payout for unlawful discrimination.’

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The Independent, 8th September 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy has appeared on the side of the Royal Courts of Justice building in central London.’

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BBC News, 8th September 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Embedded within Clarke’s legal action was a new threat to public interest reporting, despite his emphatic defeat.’

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The Guardian, 8th September 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The miscarriage of justice watchdog is failing prisoners appealing against wrongful convictions because it does not have forensic expertise and will not engage with third parties who do, experts have claimed.’

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The Guardian, 7th September 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The UK advertising watchdog has received a complaint about its own high-profile UK-wide campaign, accusing it of breaking the rules it enforces around misleading marketing.’

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The Guardian, 8th September 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Insolvency practitioners have been issued guidance on members’ voluntary liquidations (MVLs) following a recent surprising decision by the High Court in England & Wales.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th September 2025

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘The Secretary of State for the Home Department (“SSHD”) Yvette Cooper has trained her crosshairs squarely on foreign national families in her recent announcement, declaring the suspension and reform of the refugee family reunion scheme and a review of “the application of Article 8 in the immigration and asylum system.” The suspension came with a statement of changes to the Immigration Rules today at 3pm.’

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Kingsley Napley Immigration Law Blog, 4th September 2025

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘The UK advertising watchdog has received a complaint about its own high-profile UK-wide campaign, accusing it of breaking the rules it enforces around misleading marketing.’

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The Guardian, 8th September 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The report of the independent review of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment at the Bar, chaired by Baroness Harriet Harman KC, sets out 36 recommendations.’

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The Bar Council, 8th September 2025

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘In this new, much more extreme, case, the boy ‘M’, now 16, had been taken with his siblings from the UK to live in Somalia by his mother six years ago. M was born in the UK and is a UK citizen; he went to a local primary school in the UK. In Somalia, he became fearful for his life because his mother is part of a strong religious group and he had started to question those beliefs.’

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Transparency Project, 7th September 2025

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

‘Sexual relations between barristers and pupils and anyone undertaking work experience in their chambers should be banned to prevent predatory abuse at the England and Wales bar, a review by the Labour peer Harriet Harman has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 8th September 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com