Current Awareness

‘The Home Office is being urged by leading charities to reverse its decision to refuse asylum to a child slavery victim which would see him forced to return to the country from which he was trafficked.’

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The Independent, 1st February 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Church accused of launching new ‘shameful’ attack on memory of Bishop George Bell – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 1st, 2018 in Church of England, clergy, news, sexual offences by sally

‘The Church of England has been accused of launching a ‘shameful and foolish’ new attack on one of its most revered bishops, by making public an uncorroborated child sex abuse allegation almost 70 years old. The Church announced on Wednesday it had referred to the police a second claim of sexual assault made against Bishop George Bell, who died in 1958.’

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Daily Telegraph, 31st January 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Antisemitic hate crimes hit record high as violent assaults increase by more than a third in a year – The Independent

Posted February 1st, 2018 in hate crime, Judaism, news, statistics by sally

‘Antisemitic hate crimes in the UK have hit a record high, new figures show, prompting calls for more “visible and frequent” prosecutions for such incidents. The Jewish community was targeted at a rate of nearly four times a day last year, according to statistics from the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors antisemitism, which recorded 1,382 antisemitic incidents nationwide in 2017.’

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The Independent, 31st January 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

NHS told to stop handing over patient data to Home Office for immigration enforcement – The Independent

Posted February 1st, 2018 in data protection, enforcement, health, immigration, news, privacy by sally

‘Health service officials have been reprimanded for putting the health of vulnerable migrants, and the wider public, at risk and told to stop handing over confidential information to immigration officials immediately.’

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The Independent, 31st January 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Book-burning Pontypridd librarian jailed for thefts – BBC News

Posted February 1st, 2018 in libraries, news, perverting the course of justice, sentencing, theft by sally

‘A librarian stole books from her workplace – including one on the Aberfan disaster – and tried to sell them online for up to £400.’

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BBC News, 31st January 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Child abuse inquiry admits its doubts over Westminster paedophile claims – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 1st, 2018 in child abuse, inquiries, news, parliament, sexual offences, victims by sally

‘The central reason for setting up the £100 million national child abuse inquiry was called into doubt by its own lawyers as it ruled out investigating lurid claims of a Westminster paedophile ring made by fantasists. The inquiry also announced that people making accusations of child sex abuse against politicians and other VIPs will routinely be referred to as ‘complainants’ rather than victims or survivors – in an apparent acknowledgment that many of the claims have proved to be false.’

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Daily Telegraph, 31st January 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Collapsed trial woman says she gave birth ‘alone’ in prison – BBC News

Posted February 1st, 2018 in birth, delay, detention, disclosure, evidence, news, prosecutions, prostitution, trafficking in human beings, trials by sally

‘A woman held in custody for more than 13 months before her trial collapsed has told the BBC she hopes someone will be punished for the failures which led to her giving birth in prison.’

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BBC News, 31st January 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UN urged to launch global effort to end offshore tax evasion – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2018 in news, tax evasion, United Nations by sally

‘The United Nations has been urged by the Tax Justice Network to coordinate a global effort to end offshore tax evasion and corruption, amid warnings that the UK is continuing to insulate its overseas territories from financial transparency.’

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The Guardian, 30th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Supreme Court begins to hear arguments regarding website blocking for trade mark infringements – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 31st, 2018 in internet, news, Supreme Court, trade marks by sally

‘A case before the UK’s Supreme Court is set to provide guidance on whether and to what extent internet service providers (ISPs) will be expected to pick up the cost of blocking customers’ access to websites that facilitate the sale of fake goods, an intellectual property law expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 30th January 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

UK mass digital surveillance regime ruled unlawful – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2018 in data protection, investigatory powers, news, privacy, terrorism by sally

‘Appeal court judges have ruled the government’s mass digital surveillance regime unlawful in a case brought by the Labour deputy leader, Tom Watson.’

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The Guardian, 30th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Watchdog launches review of local government ethical standards – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 31st, 2018 in local government, news, standards by sally

‘The Committee on Standards in Public Life has launched a review of local government ethical standards with a call for evidence.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th January 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted January 31st, 2018 in legislation by sally

The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (Amendment) Regulations 2018

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Investigative Powers of Prosecutors: Code of Practice) Order 2018

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Pragmatism versus Principle – Transparency Project

Posted January 31st, 2018 in contact orders, human rights, Judaism, news, transgender persons by sally

‘We wrote back in January last year about a case where Mr Justice Peter Jackson (now in the Court of Appeal) had ruled against direct contact between children raised in an ultra-orthodox (Charedi) Jewish community and their transgender father, in essence because in light of the likely community ramifications it would not be in their best interests. You can read our original post here : Transgender v ultra-Orthodox Jewish community?’

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Transparency Project, 30th January 2018

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

A £1m fine for broker shows potential shortcomings with group-wide controls and surveillance, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 31st, 2018 in financial regulation, fines, news by sally

‘A fine served on an online broker shows that financial firms should not rely solely on group-wide controls and surveillance systems to pick up on suspicious transactions, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 30th January 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

One step closer to a review of assisted suicide – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 31st, 2018 in appeals, assisted suicide, news by sally

‘In Noel Douglas Conway v The Secretary of State for Justice [2018] EWCA Civ 16, the Court of Appeal gave an unusually detailed judgment granting permission to appeal against the decision of the Divisional Court in Conway, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Justice [2017] EWHC 640, refusing permission for the applicant to judicially review the criminalisation of physician-assisted suicide under the Suicide Act 1961.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th January 2018

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Rebuke for law firm that paid £215,000 for referrals from unauthorised CMC – Legal Futures

Posted January 31st, 2018 in claims management, fees, law firms, news, personal injuries by sally

‘A north-west law firm has been rebuked after paying more than £200,000 to an unauthorised claims management company for personal injury (PI) referrals.’

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Legal Futures, 31st January 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk