Phone hacking: Paul Gascoigne wins damages from Mirror Group – BBC News
‘Former footballer Paul Gascoigne has won £188,250 in phone-hacking damages from Mirror Group Newspapers.’
BBC News, 21st May 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: telecommunications
Codes of practice for the acquisition, disclosure and retention of communications data – Home Office
‘Guidance on the procedures that should be followed when the communications data is accessed or disclosed under RIPA, or retained under DRIPA or the ATCSA.’
Home Office, 15th May 2015
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
Judge grants Operation Elveden police access to press phone records – BBC News
‘A judge has granted police permission to access journalists’ phone records for the first time in a public hearing.
Full story
BBC News, 5th May 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
News focus: law and justice pledges – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The general election manifestos are in – here’s our quick-fire summary of their headline pledges on law and justice.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 20th April 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Tribunal increases ICO fine over unsolicited marketing by 50% – OUT-LAW.com
‘A UK court has increased the level of fine imposed on a business which made unsolicited marketing calls to people signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) by 50%.’
OUT-LAW.com, 17th April 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
Ofcom to consider impact of mobiles and VOIP on landline providers’ market dominance as part of next review – OUT-LAW.com
‘The growing use of mobile phones, Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and text-based and social media services to initiate calls may mean that the UK’s dominant landline telephone providers no longer require the strictest form of regulation, Ofcom has suggested.’
OUT-LAW.com, 8th April 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
More fines for unsolicited calls or texts likely, says ICO, as new rules come into force – OUT-LAW.com
‘Changes to the rules governing when the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can fine companies for making unsolicited telephone calls or sending unsolicited text messages will help the UK’s privacy watchdog to “make more fines stick”, it has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 7th April 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
Crackdown begins on nuisance texts and phone calls – The Guardian
‘The spam text message will be familiar to most people. “Our records indicate you had a non-fault accident in the last three years and are in line for receiving compensation. Reply YES for more info. Reply NO to opt out.”’
The Guardian, 6th April 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Carlyle (Appellant) v Royal Bank of Scotland (Respondent) (Scotland) – Supreme Court
Carlyle (Appellant) v Royal Bank of Scotland (Respondent) (Scotland) [2015] UKSC 13 (YouTube)
Supreme Court, 11th March 2015
Fresh grounds and evidence before the CAT – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers
‘On the face of it, BT was the main winner in this week’s ruling from the Competition Appeal Tribunal: see British Telecommunications plc v Office of Communications [2015] CAT 6. However, the decision, which makes interesting comments on the rights of parties to adduce new grounds and evidence on an appeal, raises important notes of caution to all parties which may wish to appeal or intervene in future cases.’
Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 20th March 2015
Source: www.competitionbulletin.com
Telephone gateway ‘barrier’ to justice – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The new mandatory gateway for civil legal advice may have been a barrier to access to justice, according to charity Public Law Project, which has published research showing the service has been used far less widely than expected.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd March 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Access all areas? – New Law Journal
‘Overriding lawyer-client & confidential communications is incompatible with the rule of law, as Nicholas Griffin QC, Robert O’Sullivan QC & Gordon Nardell QC explain.’
New Law Journal, 27th February 2015
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
Press regulator to look at Daily Telegraph and HSBC allegations – The Guardian
‘The press regulator is to look at allegations that the Daily Telegraph allowed commercial pressures to dictate editorial decisions following Peter Oborne’s resignation over its coverage of HSBC.’
The Guardian, 24th February 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
How your phone and fitness band could end up giving evidence against you – The Guardian
‘A criminal suspect can’t be forced to divulge their phone passcode, a US circuit court judge ruled in October 2014. Yet law enforcement officials can compel a suspect to provide a fingerprint – which they can then use to unlock the phone and obtain data which may prove the case against them.’
The Guardian, 24th February 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Judges to rule on police requests for journalists’ phone records – Daily Telegraph
‘Police to be told they need to obtain the permission of a judge if they want to obtain details of a journalist’s phone calls or emails.’
Daily Telegraph, 21st February 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
UK admits unlawfully monitoring legally privileged communications – The Guardian
‘The regime under which UK intelligence agencies, including MI5 and MI6, have been monitoring conversations between lawyers and their clients for the past five years is unlawful, the British government has admitted.’
The Guardian, 18th February 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Twitter joke trial law is being used to win easy convictions and must be scrapped, report claims – The Independent
‘The law used to prosecute a man for joking on Twitter about blowing up a snowbound airport should be scrapped since it is used to get easy convictions, according to a report out today.’
The Independent, 19th February 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Smoking ban in prisons: Inmate wants access to enforcement hotline – BBC News
‘A prisoner has launched a legal challenge to give inmates the right to report unauthorised smoking in jail.’
BBC News, 12th February 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Revenge porn’ illegal under new law in England and Wales – BBC News
‘Posting “revenge porn” images and videos on the internet is becoming a criminal offence in England and Wales.’
BBC News, 12th February 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Allard and others v Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Constabulary – WLR Daily
‘Police officers acting as handlers to informers, and responding to an automated out of hours telephone system, where contact was required between a handler and an informer, were entitled to overtime pay.’
WLR Daily, 3rd February 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
