New laws may be ‘only way forward’ to combat hacking of MPs’ phones – The Guardian

Posted January 26th, 2011 in interception, news, parliament by sally

“MPs today (25 January) heard calls for new legislation that would give parliament powers to impose sanctions against individuals involved in phone hacking, even if the police decided not to proceed with a case.”

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The Guardian, 25th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lord Taylor found guilty of expenses fraud – The Guardian

Posted January 25th, 2011 in expenses, false accounting, news, parliament, peerages & dignities by sally

“Lord Taylor of Warwick today became the first peer to be convicted in connection with the parliamentary expenses investigation, when a jury found him guilty of dishonestly claiming £11,277 in allowances.”

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The Guardian, 25th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Peers bed down for marathon session to pass reform bill – The Guardian

Posted January 18th, 2011 in elections, news, parliament, referendums by sally

“Lords debate reduction in the number of MPs in parliament.”

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The Guardian, 17th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MPs’ expenses: David Chaytor sentenced to 18 months in prison for false accounting – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 7th, 2011 in expenses, false accounting, news, parliament, sentencing by sally

“The former Labour MP David Chaytor has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for falsifying his expenses claims.”

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Daily Telegraph, 7th January 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Parliament’s expenses watchdog launches review – BBC News

Posted January 5th, 2011 in consultations, expenses, news, parliament by sally

“Parliament’s expenses watchdog is launching a public consultation after criticism over the way it is run.”

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BBC News, 5th January 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Regina (Woolas) v Parliamentary Election Court and others – WLR Daily

Posted December 9th, 2010 in elections, judicial review, law reports, parliament by sally

Regina (Woolas) v Parliamentary Election Court and others [2010] EWHC 3169 (Admin); [2010] WLR (D) 217

“The relationship of a parliamentary election court to the High Court was such that it was to be regarded as an inferior tribunal so that its actions could be the subject of judicial review; and the jurisdiction in judicial review of an election court was not confined to an excess of jurisdiction in the narrow sense but extended to correcting errors in its application of the law.”

WLR Daily, 8th December 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Court clarifies constitutional role in Woolas decision – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2010 in constitutional law, elections, news, parliament by sally

“Phil Woolas has lost his election court challenge but the decision shines a light on an obscure part of the constitutional system.”

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The Guardian, 3rd December 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Woolas’s exit paves way for BNP to stand in by-election – The Independent

Posted December 6th, 2010 in defamation, elections, news, parliament by sally

“Phil Woolas has given up his battle against becoming the first MP for almost a century to lose his seat for lying about an opponent.”

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The Independent, 4th December 2010

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Lords committee criticises government plans for constitutional reform – The Guardian

Posted November 15th, 2010 in constitutional reform, elections, news, parliament by sally

“A collection of peers has criticised the government’s proposed constitutional changes, concluding that the reforms will strengthen the executive’s grip on parliament.”

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The Guardian, 12th November 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Peers threaten voting reform bill – BBC News

Posted November 15th, 2010 in elections, news, parliament, referendums by sally

“Government plans for a referendum in May on changing the voting system could be at risk if peers vote later to refer them to a Lords committee.”

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BBC News, 15th November 2010

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Oldham East byelection delayed as Phil Woolas seeks judicial review – The Guardian

Posted November 9th, 2010 in disciplinary procedures, elections, judicial review, news, parliament by sally

“A byelection to select a new MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth has been put on hold pending the outcome of an attempt by Phil Woolas, who won the seat for Labour in May, to overturn a court decision ruling his election void.”

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The Guardian, 8th November 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Labour minister barred from Commons for three years – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 5th, 2010 in disciplinary procedures, elections, news, parliament by sally

“Former immigration minister Phil Woolas lost his seat as an MP today after an election court ruled that he knowingly made false statements about an opponent in May’s general election.”

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Daily Telegraph, 5th November 2010

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Three peers suspended from Lords over expenses claims – BBC News

Posted October 22nd, 2010 in disciplinary procedures, expenses, news, parliament, peerages & dignities by sally

“Three peers have been suspended from the Lords for wrongly claiming expenses totalling tens of thousands of pounds.”

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BBC News, 21st October 2010

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

House of Lords suspends three from parliament in expenses clampdown – The Guardian

Posted October 19th, 2010 in disciplinary procedures, expenses, news, parliament, peerages & dignities by sally

“Three peers were today suspended from parliament – the toughest punishment enacted in the House of Lords in modern times – after an inquiry found that each had broken expenses rules to wrongly claim tens of thousands of pounds.”

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The Guardian, 18th October 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Three former MPs take expenses appeals to Supreme Court – BBC News

Posted October 19th, 2010 in expenses, news, parliament by sally

“Three former Labour MPs facing criminal trials over their expenses claims have taken their case to the Supreme Court.”

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BBC News, 18th October 2010

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lawcast168: Carl Gardner on “Monkeying with national sovereignty” – Charon QC

Posted October 11th, 2010 in constitutional law, parliament, podcasts by sally

“Today I am talking to Carl Gardner, ex government lawyer and author of the Head of Legal blog, about the extraordinary idea being put forward by Foreign Secretary William Hague that we need to enshrine Parliamentary Sovereignty in our law. There are many dangers in doing so. There could well be *unintended consequences* and Carl Gardner says that the drafting of this legislation will need especial care.”

Podcast

Charon QC, 8th October 20101

Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com

“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.

Phone-hacking row: government backs new inquiry – The Guardian

Posted September 9th, 2010 in inquiries, interception, media, news, parliament, telecommunications by sally

“Pressure mounts on Andy Coulson, as MPs call on the powerful standards and privileges committee to summon witnesses such as Rupert Murdoch to give evidence.”

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The Guardian, 9th September 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Phone hacking claims to be debated by Parliament – BBC News

Posted September 9th, 2010 in inquiries, interception, media, news, parliament, telecommunications by sally

“MPs are to hold an emergency debate later to discuss the allegations of phone hacking by journalists at the News of the World.”

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BBC News, 9th September 2010

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Fixed-term parliaments bill open to legal challenge, clerk of Commons warns – The Guardian

Posted September 7th, 2010 in bills, constitutional law, elections, news, parliament by sally

“A major potential flaw in the coalition’s bill to introduce fixed-term parliaments was exposed when the clerk of the Commons today warned it would open the way for repeated legal challenges if parliament passed a vote of no confidence in a government, leading to a general election.”

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The Guardian, 7th September 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Nick Clegg’s ‘illegal’ Iraq war gaffe prompts legal warning – The Guardian

Posted July 22nd, 2010 in illegality, Iraq, news, parliament, war by sally

“Nick Clegg was tonight (21 July) forced to clarify his position on the Iraq war after he stood up at the dispatch box of the House of Commons and pronounced the invasion illegal.”

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The Guardian, 21st July 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk