‘Boris Johnson’s government is introducing three pieces of legislation that will make human rights violations more likely to occur and less likely to be sanctioned even as averting climate catastrophe depends on these rights, the UN special rapporteur for human rights and the environment has said.’
The Guardian, 24th June 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A cursory Google search of employee monitoring tools reveals the breadth of technologies now available for companies to track worker activity. The top results are dominated by advertisements for software with features like keystroke logging, website monitoring, video surveillance and geolocational tracking, all with the goals of keeping managers informed and harnessing productivity. While monitoring employees is hardly a new phenomenon, the interest in such technologies has dramatically increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic with the surge of people working from home (WFH). From a legal perspective, the permissibility of these monitoring practices is complex.’
UK Labour Law, 19th May 2021
Source: uklabourlawblog.com
‘In Privacy International & Ors v Secretary of State for Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs & Ors [2021] EWCA Civ 330, the Court of Appeal held that the policy which authorises officers of the Security Service (MI5) to run undercover agents who participate in the commission of criminal offences is lawful.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 26th March 2021
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘MI5’s partially secret policy of allowing agents to participate in serious crimes in pursuit of intelligence was legal, three court of appeal judges have concluded.’
The Guardian, 9th March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Suspected benefit fraudsters in the UK are being subjected to excessive surveillance techniques such as being tailed by government officers or identified in CCTV footage, according to a report.’
The Guardian, 14th February 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Peers have voted to ban spies from committing murder, rape and torture under a controversial new law – three months after MPs refused to bring in the same restrictions.’
The Independent, 13th January 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Tory peers, bishops and crossbenchers could inflict defeat on the government after an outcry over new guidance which allows state agencies to use children as undercover spies as part of the government’s covert intelligence bill.’
The Guardian, 13th January 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘MI6 failed to make clear to the foreign secretary that a “high risk agent” operating overseas had probably engaged in “serious criminality” until it was pointed out by an independent regulator last year.’
The Guardian, 15th December 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘David Crossland’s whole family died beside him on a holiday flight to Yugoslavia in September 1966. His wife Daphne, and their young children Kevin and Lynne were killed when their plane crashed in woods as it was approaching the airport in Ljubljana. David, who was sitting across the aisle from his wife and children, crawled to safety from the burning wreckage.’
BBC News, 7th December 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The relatives of dead children whose identities were stolen by undercover police officers have launched legal action against the Metropolitan police over their resulting trauma.’
The Guardian, 7th December 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The High Court has refused to strike out claims of harassment brought by a solicitor and his wife over surveillance of them carried out at the instruction of a former client.’
Legal Futures, 30th November 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘There are reports of bosses in some parts of the world downloading programs which screenshot their staffs’ computers at regular intervals to monitor their productivity.’
Each Other, 19th November 2020
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘Undercover Policing Inquiry to begin more than five years after being announced by Theresa May.’
The Independent, 1st November 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A cross-party group of MPs and peers including a former national security adviser are taking legal action against Boris Johnson over his government’s refusal to order an inquiry into Russian interference in UK elections.’
The Guardian, 29th October 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A public inquiry into undercover policing is poised to reveal details of how police repeatedly spied on black justice groups, including several run by grieving families whose relatives were killed by police or died in custody.’
The Guardian, 28th October 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Those duped into having relationships with undercover police are hoping for answers from the inquiry.’
The Guardian, 28th October 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Government recently submitted the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill to Parliament. This Bill seeks to put the ability of undercover operatives to commit criminal offences in the course of their deployment on a statutory footing. It will be achieved by amending the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) to allow a diverse range of state agencies to authorise their Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS) to commit criminal offences where necessary for protecting national security, preventing or detecting crime or disorder, or protecting the economic wellbeing of the UK. This will have the effect of making such activity “lawful for all purposes”, which, without providing so explicitly, effectively means full civil and criminal immunity for those who act within the terms of the authorisation.’
Garden Court Chambers, 8th October 2020
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘The number of domestic abuse cases has increased dramatically since the UK’s Covid lockdown – and tech has played a role.’
BBC News, 18th October 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Force pays confidential sum to man who discovered at the age of 26 that his father, Bob Lambert, was a police officer rather than a leftwing activist.’
The Guardian, 7th October 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Reform is needed to bring the law into the 21st century and protect the United Kingdom from espionage (spying) and unauthorised disclosures (leaks), according to a report from the Law Commission that has been laid in Parliament today [01 September 2020].’
Law Commission, 1st September 2020
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
