Police and prosecutors criticised after firefighter wrongly convicted of sex attacks solely on testimony of fantasist – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 22nd, 2016 in child abuse, miscarriage of justice, news, sexual offences by sally

‘A retired fire chief falsely accused of sexually abusing a boy 40 years ago has had his conviction overturned after it emerged his accuser was a fantasist and serial liar.’

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Daily Telegraph, 20th July 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Man jailed for using drone to fly drugs into prisons – The Guardian

Posted July 22nd, 2016 in conspiracy, drug offences, news, prisons, sentencing by sally

‘A man who used a drone to fly contraband into prisons has become the first person in the UK to be jailed for the crime, police said.’

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The Guardian, 21st July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The first ever FGM figures show nearly 6,000 new cases in England – BBC News

Posted July 22nd, 2016 in female genital mutilation, news, statistics by sally

‘The first ever recorded figures for female genital mutilation (FGM) show that between April 2015 and March 2016 there were 5,702 new cases in England.’

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BBC News, 21st July 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Diplomats in UK ‘avoiding prosecution for serious crimes’ – The Guardian

Posted July 22nd, 2016 in child abuse, diplomats, immunity, news, prosecutions, sexual offences by sally

‘Diplomatic officials working in Britain have allegedly used their immunity to avoid prosecution for serious criminal offences including child pornography and human trafficking, Boris Johnson has told parliament.’

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The Guardian, 21st July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Head Teacher’s Safeguarding responsibilities – Employment Law Blog

‘A v B Local Authority and C Governing Body of School [2016] EWCA Civ 766 is concerned with whether an ET had been entitled to find that a Head Teacher of a primary school had been fairly summarily dismissed for gross misconduct, i.e. putting the safety of children at risk, for failing to disclose to the school authorities her close personal relationship with a male (IS) convicted of making indecent images of children by downloading them onto his computer. The ET’s finding was upheld by the EAT (Wilkie J presiding) and has now been upheld by a majority in the Court of Appeal (Black and Floyd LJJ). Elias LJ dissented.’

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Employment Law Blog, 20th July 2016

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

Town and Village Greens – Local Government Law

Posted July 21st, 2016 in commons, land registration, local government, news by sally

‘The importance of giving reasons for a decision to register land as a village or town green under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 has been emphasized by Gilbart J in R (NHS Property Services Ltd) v Surrey County Council (2016) EWHC 1715 (Admin), in which NHS Property Services Ltd (“NHS”) sought judicial review of a decision by the County Council to register a parcel of woodland (“the land”) as a village green. The case is also of importance in relation to the question whether there is a statutory incompatibility with registration.’

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Local Government Law, 20th July 2016

Source:  www.11kbw.com/blogs/local-government-law

Company fined £550,000 in first corporate manslaughter sentencing under new guideline – OUT-LAW.com

‘A construction firm based in north London has been fined £550,000 for corporate manslaughter offences, in the first sentencing since new guidelines were introduced in February.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th July 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Restrictions on access to internet connection records agreed by UK peers – OUT-LAW.com

‘New UK surveillance laws will restrict access to people’s internet connection records (ICRs) further than was originally proposed after amendments to the Investigatory Powers Bill were approved in the UK parliament.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th July 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Guide to Judicial Conduct – Revised July 2016 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted July 21st, 2016 in codes of practice, judiciary, news by sally

‘The Judicial HR Committee of the Judges’ Council is in the process of revising the Guide to Judicial Conduct to make it more readily accessible to the whole of the judiciary. It hopes to be able to present a revised draft to the Judges’ Council for publication during the coming year. In the meantime, judges’ attention is drawn to the attached interim revision of the 2013 Guide. This brings the current version up to date with, amongst other things, references to the JCIO etc and the guidance on reporting minor offences (published in July 2015).’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 21st July 2016

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Judge admonished over fraud finding and exclusion of claimant – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 21st, 2016 in appeals, dismissal, fraud, judges, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has ruled that a judge was wrong to exclude claimants from parts of their own county court hearing – but concluded their case was still right to be dismissed.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 21st July 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

MPs reject bill to change Britain’s voting system to proportional representation – The Independent

Posted July 21st, 2016 in bills, constitutional reform, elections, news, parliament by sally

‘MPs have rejected a bill that would have changed Britain’s voting system to a form of proportional representation.’

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The Independent, 20th July 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

MPs to debate motion declaring Tony Blair in ‘contempt’ of parliament in September – The Independent

Posted July 21st, 2016 in deceit, Iraq, news, parliament, reports, war by sally

‘MPs are to debate a motion on whether to declare Tony Blair in “contempt” of Parliament because of his role in the Iraq War.’

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The Independent, 20th July 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Crime rate set to double after true scale of internet offences revealed – The Guardian

Posted July 21st, 2016 in computer crime, crime, internet, news, statistics by sally

‘There were more than 5.8m incidents of cybercrime in the last year, the Office for National Statistics has said, far higher than previously thought and enough to nearly double the crime rate in England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 21st July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Men jailed over bacon tied to Bristol mosque door handles – BBC News

Posted July 21st, 2016 in harassment, hate crime, news, public order, racism, restraining orders, sentencing by sally

‘Two men have been jailed and two women have been given suspended sentences after rashers of bacon were tied to door handles at a Bristol mosque.’

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BBC News, 20th July 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rich wives being told to get a job as judges clamp down on ‘meal ticket’ divorces – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 21st, 2016 in appeals, divorce, employment, financial provision, news, time limits, women by sally

‘Rich wives are increasing being told to go out and get a job rather than rely on maintenance from their ex-husband as judges lead what amounts to a clampdown on “meal ticket” divorces, according to lawyers.’

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Daily Telegraph, 20th July 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Teenager sues after repeatedly being held overnight in police cell – The Guardian

Posted July 21st, 2016 in children, detention, local government, news, police, young persons by sally

‘Test case against Met police and Islington council brought on behalf of 14-year-old boy by Just for Kids Law, which says cells are not fit places for children.’

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The Guardian, 21st July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

High Court: part 36 offer meant party could not accept earlier ‘without prejudice’ offer – Litigation Futures

‘The High Court has ruled that a claimant’s part 36 offer was a counter-offer, meaning that an earlier common law offer by the defendants no longer remained open for acceptance.’

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Litigation futures, 15th July 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Barristers still face flexible working penalty – The Bar Council

‘The Bar Council has launched a new flexible working guide for chambers, which includes proposals for possible rent reductions for those barristers seeking to work reduced hours or away from chambers because of care responsibilities.’

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The Bar Council, 19th July 2016

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Finance & Divorce Update, July 2016 – Family Law week

‘Edward Heaton, Principal Associate and Jane Booth, Associate, both of Mills & Reeve LLP, analyse the news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during June 2016.’

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Family Law Week, 15th July 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

JR jurisdiction ‘disadvantage’ for criminal cases – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The High Court has dismissed a bid to reconsider a judicial review decision, highlighting jurisdictional differences between criminal and civil proceedings.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 19th July 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk