Ethnic minority lawyers nearly four times less likely to be appointed as judges – The Independent

‘Black and minority ethnic lawyers are nearly four times less likely to be appointed as judges than white candidates, according to the latest statistics from the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), prompting calls for targets to be introduced.’

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The Independent, 7th December 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

GP ‘disgust’ at watchdog errors – BBC News

Posted December 8th, 2014 in BBC, doctors, medical treatment, news by sally

‘GPs have told the BBC their reputations have been “tarnished by incompetence” from the health watchdog.’

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BBC News, 5th December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK mass surveillance laws do not breach human rights, tribunal rules – The Guardian

‘Britain’s legal regime governing mass surveillance of the internet by intelligence agencies does not violate human rights, a tribunal has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 5th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bijan Ebrahimi death: 16 police staff face charges – The Independent

Posted December 8th, 2014 in disabled persons, disciplinary procedures, homicide, news, police, victims by sally

‘Sixteen people from a single police force face criminal and disciplinary charges after the cries for help from a disabled man wrongly accused of paedophilia and killed by a drunken vigilante were allegedly ignored in the days before his murder.’

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The Independent, 5th December 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Tragedy of Latvian migrant who buried her baby alive after police decided they couldn’t help her – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 8th, 2014 in birth, homelessness, infanticide, mental health, news, prostitution by sally

‘A hearing at the Old Bailey hears Elita Amantova, 39, was living off berries and bread left out for the birds before she gave birth.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Two Britons jailed for 13 years for joining jihadi group in Syria – The Guardian

‘Two British men who travelled to Syria to join an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group have been jailed for nearly 13 years.’

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The Guardian, 5th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Probation contracts awarded to private organisations – BBC News

‘Private contracts to run probation services monitoring low and medium risk offenders have been awarded by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.’

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BBC News, 5th December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Couple who faked son’s blindness for insurance claim are jailed – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 8th, 2014 in forgery, fraud, insurance, news, personal injuries, sentencing by sally

‘Former soldier Jeremy Jones and his wife Sally Anne Jones are given 12 months in prison after claiming their son had been blinded in one eye falling off his bike.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Prison book ban is unlawful, court rules – The Guardian

Posted December 8th, 2014 in libraries, news, prisons, rehabilitation by sally

‘The blanket ban on sending books to prisoners in England and Wales has been declared unlawful by the high court.’

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The Guardian, 5th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judge criticises multi-millionaire tycoon over unpaid fine for illegally felling trees – Daily Telegraph

‘Sir John Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice, says ‘one law for rich and another for poor’ as he tells court penalty imposed on Philip Edward Day should not still be outstanding.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

FGM: UK plan to require professionals to report suspected cases – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2014 in doctors, female genital mutilation, news, social services, teachers by sally

‘Campaigners against female genital mutilation (FGM) have cautiously welcomed government moves to require professionals to report suspected cases of FGM, but warned of the risk of alienating communities and forcing the practice further underground.’

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The Guardian, 5th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal challenge to Government’s £2.5bn subsidy scheme for fossil fuel industry – The Independent

Posted December 6th, 2014 in EC law, energy, news, state aids by sally

‘The Government may be forced to suspend a £2.5bn annual subsidy scheme designed to keep the lights on as cheaply and as greenly as possible following a legal challenge in the European Court of Justice, which claims it amounts to an “unlawful subsidy” for the fossil fuel industry.’

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The Independent, 5th December 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Former DJ Ray Teret guilty of raping underage girls – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2014 in child abuse, news, rape by sally

‘A DJ friend of Jimmy Savile has been found guilty of using his celebrity status to groom and then rape underage girls. Over more than 30 years, Ray Teret, 73, used nightclubs and youth discos across Manchester to meet impressionable underage girls. He would then take them back to his flat and rape them.’

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The Guardian, 5th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bully teaching assistant found guilty of taping seven-year-old girl to chair – The Independent

Posted December 5th, 2014 in abuse of position of trust, bullying, news, school children, teachers by sally

‘A teaching assistant has been found guilty of bullying a seven-year-old girl at a school in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.’

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The Independent, 5th December 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

European court rejects Geoff Hoon’s human rights complaint – BBC News

Posted December 5th, 2014 in human rights, lobbying, news, parliamentary privilege by sally

‘A parliamentary investigation into the conduct of the former Labour MP Geoff Hoon was justified, according to the European Court of Human Rights.’

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BBC News, 4th December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court ruling will create new market for pensions debts, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 5th, 2014 in debts, insolvency, news, pensions, trusts, winding up by sally

‘A new market for trading the pension debts of insolvent companies will be created as a result of a recent High Court ruling. The ruling will also result in more efficient, earlier winding up of pension schemes when companies go out of business.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th December 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Better than nothing… helpful… mad as a bag of frogs’: judges on McKenzie Friends –

Posted December 5th, 2014 in family courts, litigants in person, McKenzie friends, news, reports by sally

‘A new report on litigants in person in private family law cases has added to concerns over the value and legitimacy of McKenzie Friends in the legal services market. The report, commissioned and published by the Ministry of Justice, into litigants in person in the family courts (here) found the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s recommendation that professional McKenzie Friends be recognised as a legitimate part of the market (reported here) ‘somewhat surprising’.’

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LegalVoice, 4th December 2014

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Mother loses action over decision by ombudsman not to investigate records loss – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 5th, 2014 in hospitals, judicial review, medical records, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The mother of a woman who died as an inpatient at a London hospital has lost a High Court challenge against the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO) over its refusal to investigate the loss of her daughter’s medical records.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th December 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Swearing man ‘risks life in prison’ after 176 convictions – BBC News

Posted December 5th, 2014 in ASBOs, news, public order, sentencing by sally

‘A man with 176 convictions for repeated foul-mouthed outbursts risks spending the rest of his life in prison.’

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BBC News, 4th December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

NAO questions whether legal aid reforms have delivered better value for money – Free Movement

Posted December 5th, 2014 in budgets, legal aid, news, reports by sally

‘On 20 November 2014, the National Audit Office – the independent Parliamentary body responsible for scrutinising the way in which the government spends public money – published a report on the implementation of the post-2010 civil legal aid reforms. Its central conclusion is an unsurprising one: while spending on civil legal aid has been reduced significantly, the Ministry of Justice failed properly to consider the wider impact of the reforms before implementing them.’

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Free Movement, 5th December 2014

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk