Category: news

‘The Sentencing Act 2026 (‘the Act’), which received Royal Assent on 22 January, is likely to have a significant impact on the way in which the courts deal with offenders. The Act follows a period of consultation which highlighted the chronic challenges facing the criminal justice and prison system. At the heart of the new Act is an aspiration to rehabilitate low-level offenders in the community, rather than through the prison system. This includes more stringent community order requirements to ensure that punitive aspects of the justice system remain intact.’

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Guildhall Chambers, 10th February 2026

Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk

‘A teenager has been sentenced to a minimum term of 13 years for murdering a 12-year-old boy on his way home from school.’

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BBC News, 10th February 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A 29-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering his partner’s five-month-old baby.’

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BBC News, 10th February 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘On the 10th of February, the The Animal Law Foundation and the League against Cruel Sports presented a letter to the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The full text is attached to this post. In the letter, which marks the twentieth aniversary of the passing of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the ALF and the LACS ackowledge that the Act has undoubtedly improved the lives of many animals. However, its full potential is yet to be realised.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 11th February 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘The High Court has considered for the first time the impact of section 12 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (IMA 2023) on the operation of the Hardial Singh principles in challenges against immigration detention. Although the Court accepted that Parliament succeeded in modifying the orthodox operation of Hardial Singh, it has also, very significantly, determined that the 2023 Act does not affect the Court’s approach in determining similar challenges relying on Article 5(1)(f) of the ECHR. The case is R (MXV) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC 251 (Admin).’

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Administrative Court Blog, 10th February 2026

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘The Supreme Court in a 55-page judgment has held that the common law defence of illegality bars a claimant found not guilty by reason of insanity from recovering civil damages that are the consequence of his unlawful killings and the lawful detention that followed. Applying the Patel v Mirza framework, the Court concluded that permitting recovery would create damaging incoherence in the law and undermine public confidence.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 23rd January 2026

Source: pilawblog.com

‘On 19 January 2026, the UK’s new public offers and admissions to trading regime came into force. This represents the biggest piece of legislative reform in this area for many years.’

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4 New Square, 21st January 2026

Source: www.4newsquare.com

‘Richard Whitehouse analyses the case of Blower v GH Canfield LLP [2025] EWCA Civ 1627, a claim that arose from settlement advice that was provided by solicitors, allegedly in a situation where there were conflicts of interest.’

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3PB, 5th February 2026

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

‘For those unfamiliar with it, Grok is a generative artificial intelligence system developed by xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, and embedded directly into X, formerly known as Twitter. Grok is a sophisticated multimodal AI system capable of generating and editing images and text. The use of Grok has sparked controversy in the past few weeks, as it has been used to generate non-consensual sexualised images – the victims being predominantly women and girls. Whilst xAI has now confirmed that it will stop Grok from being able to generate sexualised images of real people, it is not the only ‘nudifier’ app on the market. Furthermore, recent reports in the media suggest that users are still able to use Grok to generate nudes through the use of certain workarounds.’

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3PB, 19th January 2026

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

‘Where a claimant has sued two defendants in the alternative, and has discontinued against one of them, in what circumstances should the remaining defendant be ordered to pay the discontinued-against defendant’s costs?’

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3 Hare court, 14th January 2026

Source: www.3harecourt.com

‘A total £1.3 billion would be needed to get the courts estate up to standard in Wales, the lady chief justice has revealed during her first evidence session with the Welsh Parliament. Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill was appearing before the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, the first time any chief justice has given evidence to a Senedd committee.’

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Law society Gazette, 9th February 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The decision by Serco to remove the artworks, commissioned to cheer up court custody areas that are often underground and “bleak”, is revealed in the annual report of the Lay Observers, independent members of the public who monitor court custody and escort conditions. The report draws on 759 visits to court custody suites across England and Wales, representing almost 2,000 hours of monitoring.’

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The Guardian, 10th February 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A successful violinist who sent lewd images of himself to two women he had never met has been given a 12-month suspended prison sentence.’

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BBC News, 9th February 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The First-tier Tribunal had delivered a ruling in which it has allowed a claimant to challenge the imposition of a liability order on public law grounds, despite the jurisdiction for this not being set out explicitly in the relevant statute. The decision does not set a precedent, and strictly involves a narrow point of construction relating to the Finance Act. However, its reasoning, if approved or adopted on appeal, may have significant ramifications for claimants wishing to rely on public law grounds before tribunal appeals more generally. The case is Hall v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 124 (TC) (13 January 2026).’

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Administrative Court Blog, 9th February 2026

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘A nursery worker has been found guilty of sexually abusing children in what was described in court as “every parent’s nightmare”.’

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BBC News, 9th February 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The High Court has rejected an accusation of abuse of process levied against a leading consumer claim law firm and a KC over their conduct of a data breach case.’

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Legal Futures, 10th February 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘The University of Cambridge has won its fight to stop a rowing company based in the city trademarking its name.’

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BBC News, 10th February 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A now-defunct law firm has won a Limitation Act argument over two negligence claims initially brought against the firm that the claimants wrongly believed to be its successor practice.’

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Legal Futures, 9th February 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘The current “uncertain and demanding times” are reflected in the record number of lawyers receiving emotional support from legal mental health charity LawCare, according to its chief executive.’

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Legal Futures, 9th February 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘A barrister who sexually assaulted a child in 1992 and “used his position of trust to groom that victim” has been disbarred.’

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Legal Futures, 9th February 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk