Man who shot PC with crossbow is jailed – BBC News
‘A man who shot a policeman in the leg with a crossbow after officers were called to a neighbour dispute has been jailed for nine years.’
BBC News, 20th August 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Assessing the impact of immigration legal aid cuts under LASPO: the quest for better data – Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law
‘Reducing public spending on legal aid was central to the rationale for the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Despite repeated calls for the government to assess the full impact of LASPO on public finances, little progress has been made on this. Qualitative evidence suggests that costs have shifted across government rather than reduced, but more needs to be done to understand the economic costs and benefits of LASPO. The existing qualitative evidence is significant because it demonstrates the serious personal consequences for individuals who are unable to access legal advice, but there is insufficient quantitative data to assess how broadly applicable the qualitative evidence is. Responding to the lack of quantitative data, this article argues that improved data gathering across government must be a priority. This would enable future research to understand the wider economic impact of the legislation. To assess the costs of LASPO we propose a framework synthesising existing qualitative and quantitative data. We also identify quantitative data that can be collected in the future. The article identifies six key hypotheses to be tested, as well as which data are required for this and who could collect them if not currently available.’
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 18th August 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
Children left with harmful parents because of lack of foster carers – Transparency Project
‘A local authority (LA) applied for care orders for six children in March 2025. At the case management hearing (CMH) I attended in April, and wrote on here: ‘Completing care proceedings in less that 26 weeks’, a strict timetable was set out by the judge to ensure that all assessments were completed by mid August when an Issues Resolution Hearing (IRH) would be listed. Interim care orders were made for all the children, then living at home with parents Mr and Mrs A, with a safety plan in place.’
Transparency Project, 18th August 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
Shower gel ad gets UK ban for suggesting black skin is problematic – The Guardian
‘A television advert for Sanex shower gel has been banned in the UK for appearing to suggest that black skin is “problematic” and white skin is “superior”.’
The Guardian, 20th August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
Motor finance: untangling the Supreme Court’s decision – Law Society’s Gazette
‘On Friday, 1 August 2025, the Supreme Court gave its long-awaited judgment on the controversial issue of secret commissions, finding that commission payments were not bribes and dealers do not owe fiduciary duties when arranging motor finance – but where very large commissions have been paid, that may create an unfair relationship under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. This judgment is likely to have wide-ranging repercussions across the finance industry. ‘
Law Society's Gazette, 19th August 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
High court asylum hotels ruling leaves Cooper scrambling for alternatives – The Guardian
‘Yvette Cooper, thanks to Tuesday’s high court ruling, is facing potentially explosive decisions over where to house asylum seekers if courts rule that they must leave hotels.’
The Guardian, 19th August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
Leaked report shows 10,000 shortfall in probation staff – BBC News
‘There is a shortfall of around 10,000 probation staff to manage offenders serving sentences in the community, documents seen by the BBC show.’
BBC News, 20th August 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Tribunal refuses permission for appeal of subsidy control judgment on £140m loans made by combined authority – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Competition Appeal Tribunal has refused permission for an appeal over its dismissal of a subsidy control challenge to Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) decision to provide loans worth £140m to a developer to undertake regeneration projects.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th August 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Risks to human rights identified as watchdog hands council first “inadequate” rating for adult care – Local Government Lawyer
‘Blackpool Council has become the first local authority to date to have its adult care services rated as “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th August 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Supreme Court upholds sanctions on Eugene Shvidler and Dalston Projects in test case for UK regime – UK Human Rights Blog
‘These appeals – Shvidler v Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and Dalston Projects Ltd v Secretary of State for Transport – were a test case for the operation of the UK’s sanctions regime introduced in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 18th August 2025
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Law students: academic misconduct and the SRA early character & suitability assessment – Kingsley Napley Regulatory Blog
‘Pursuing a career in law is already a significant challenge without the added stress of worrying whether past mistakes could block your path to becoming a solicitor. Early-life convictions, cautions, academic disciplinary actions, or financial issues may all impact your eligibility for admission by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).’
Kingsley Napley Regulatory Blog, 18th August 2025
Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk
Scrapping of audit watchdog for English councils ‘led to soaring costs and chaos’ – The Guardian
‘David Cameron’s “bonfire of the quangos” decision to abolish England’s council spending watchdog has left a broken system that is costing taxpayers more money than it was promised to save.’
The Guardian, 19th August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
Government eyes ending requirement for printed statutory notices for alcohol licences – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Government has amended its response to the recent Licensing Taskforce report to say that it intends to review the requirement for printed statutory notices for alcohol licenses as part of the licensing call for evidence.’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th August 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Man found guilty over east London shooting of nine-year-old girl – The Guardian
‘A man has been found guilty for his role in the shooting of a nine-year-old girl outside an east London restaurant in a long-running gang feud.’
The Guardian, 18th August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
Does the Regulator Owe a Doctor a Duty of Care? Suresh v General Medical Council [2025] EWHC 804 (KB) – 2 Hare Court
‘On 16th April 2018, the GMC received information from the police that a 15-year-old patient had alleged that a consultant anaesthetist, Dr Sridharan Suresh, had sexually assaulted her. It opened an investigation. On 1st May 2018, the GMC contacted Dr Suresh, and the following day he was informed of the GMC investigation, and that the case would be sent to an Interim Orders hearing.’
2 Hare Court, 29th July 2025
Source: www.2harecourt.com
Bias, Hearsay and More Besides – Moodliar v General Medical Council [2025] EWHC 913 (Admin) (16 April 2025) – 2 Hare Court
‘The appeal of Dr Moodliar against the finding of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal that she had acted dishonestly, and its direction for her erasure from the register of doctors, raised a plethora of issues and makes useful reading in relation to them all. The misconduct was in relation to the writing of an expert report and was comprehensive – including dishonesty, inadequate experience, and plagiarism (summarised at §113 of the Judgment).’
2 Hare Court, 29th July 2025
Source: www.2harecourt.com
Stalking victim says UK police did not take her ‘years of hell’ seriously – The Guardian
‘A travel influencer stalked by a British man who travelled to her Indonesian home and threatened to kidnap her has strongly criticised police over the way her case was handled.’
The Guardian, 15th August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
Res judicata: Re Bingham Cemetery (No. 2) – Law & Religion UK
‘The recently reported case Re Bingham Cemetery (No. 2) [2025] ECC S&N 3 concerns an application by Mrs Rita Elizabeth Harbury-Carlisle, otherwise Lady Rita Harbury-Carlisle, (‘Rita’) seeking the exhumation of the remains of her sister Valerie Allsop (‘Valerie’) and her father Eugene Arthur Allsop (‘Eugene’) from their grave in Bingham cemetery. Whilst the Chancellor could find no exceptional circumstances to justify the grant of a faculty for this recent petition, the judgment includes a discussion of the doctrine of res judicata – “a matter judged”, the legal doctrine that prevents the same parties from relitigating a claim or issue that has already been decided by a competent court. The judgment also includes a further consideration of the application of Re Blagdon Cemetery [2002] Fam 299 and Re Christ Church Alsager [1999] Fam 142.’
Law & Religion UK, 18th August 2025
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
UK’s first transgender judge seeks rehearing of supreme court case on biological sex – The Guardian
‘The UK’s first transgender judge has launched a case against the UK in the European court of human rights challenging the process that led to the supreme court’s ruling on biological sex.’
The Guardian, 18th August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
Redact or Not Redact, That Is the Question – 2 Hare Court
‘Cotham School v Bristol County Council & Anor [2025] EWHC 1382 (Ch) is a blockbuster of a case, guaranteed to excite the passions of any English woman or man. It concerns the status of a piece of land registered as a village green, the use of which as playing fields by a school is contested.’
2 Hare Court, 29th July 2025
Source: www.2harecourt.com
