Category: news

TV licence law change plan in motion – BBC News

Posted March 18th, 2014 in BBC, bills, crime, licensing, media, news by sally

‘A proposal to end the criminal offence of failing to buy a TV licence is
being considered for inclusion in a bill before Parliament.’

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BBC News, 18th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Prisoners say they are not being punished inside – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 18th, 2014 in news, prisons, rehabilitation by sally

‘ Up to half of prisoners do not feel they are being punished while behind bars fuelling concerns of soft justice, the Daily Telegraph can disclose. In some jails fewer than one in five inmates believe they are paying for their crimes, according to the Ministry of Justice’s own survey. Across the prison estate a third of prisoners also say they not being helped to address their offending or to ensure they will be law-abiding citizens on release.’

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Daily Telegraph, 18th March 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Mormon Tax, Posthumous Procreation and Stephen Lawrence Spying – the Human Rights Roundup – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 17th, 2014 in elderly, human rights, mental health, news, police, religious discrimination, spying, taxation by sally

‘In the human rights news this week, Theresa May calls for a public inquiry into undercover police officers after the publication of the independent review into spying on the family of Stephen Lawrence. Elsewhere, Mormons take on the taxman, the High Court considers how to interpret the law on storing embryos and gametes after death and a House of Lords Committee publishes a major report into the operation of the Mental Capacity Act.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 16th March 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

CA says Prince Charles’ advocacy letters should be produced – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 17th, 2014 in appeals, disclosure, freedom of information, lobbying, news, royal family by sally

‘R (o.t.a Rob Evans) v. Attorney-General, Information Commissioner Interested Party, 12 March 2014.The Court of Appeal (reversing a strong court including the former Lord Chief Justice – see my previous post) has decided that correspondence between the Prince of Wales and various government departments should be released. A Guardian journalist had made a request under the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations to see these documents. The Upper Tribunal had agreed that they should be disclosed.’

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Uk Human Rights Blog, 16th March 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Teen jailed after he got lethal arsenal delivered to family home – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 17th, 2014 in drug offences, firearms, news, sentencing, young offenders by sally

‘A teenager who bought a machine gun online and had it delivered to his family home, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and nunchucks, has been jailed for six years.’

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Daily Telegraph, 14th March 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Armed forces bullying watchdog announced – BBC News

Posted March 17th, 2014 in armed forces, bullying, complaints, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘A new watchdog is to be created to investigate the way bullying and
abuse cases are dealt with in the armed forces, the defence secretary
has said.’

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BBC News, 14th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Policeman who punched woman used CS gas on UK Uncut protesters – The Guardian

Posted March 17th, 2014 in assault, misfeasance in public office, news, police by sally

‘A policeman who was sentenced for punching a suspected shoplifter in the head earlier this week has been found to have breached professional standards in another incident where he sprayed peaceful protesters with CS gas.’

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The Guardian, 14th March 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Facebook status used to catch Exeter benefits cheat – BBC News

Posted March 17th, 2014 in benefits, fraud, internet, news, sentencing by sally

‘A married benefits cheat who swindled £65,000 by claiming she was a single mother was caught after investigators checked her Facebook status, Exeter Crown Court has heard.’

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BBC News, 14th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Couple jailed for YouTube videos glorifying Lee Rigby murder – The Guardian

Posted March 17th, 2014 in incitement, inciting racial hatred, inciting religious hatred, murder, news, sentencing, terrorism by sally

‘A couple were jailed on Friday for glorifying the murder of the soldier Lee Rigby in videos posted on YouTube that were “offensive in the extreme”. Royal Barnes, 23, and his wife Rebekah Dawson, 22, of Hackney, north-east London, recorded and uploaded three videos shortly after the murder in Woolwich, south-east London, last May.’

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The Guardian, 14th March 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Solicitors Regulation Authority ‘not racist’ but black solicitors treated harshly – The Independent

Posted March 17th, 2014 in disciplinary procedures, minorities, news, race discrimination, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘The body that investigates solicitors has been cleared of institutional racism despite an independent inquiry concluding that it disproportionately pursues black and minority ethnic (BME) lawyers for alleged wrongdoing.’

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The Independent, 14th March 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Ex-FBI-sting paedophile George Richards jailed for life – BBC News

Posted March 17th, 2014 in child abuse, kidnapping, news, sentencing by sally

‘A former trainee teacher caught 11 years ago in an FBI sting targeting paedophiles has been jailed for life for trying to abduct two girls.’

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BBC News, 14th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Elderly woman evicted from care home over assisted suicide fears – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 17th, 2014 in assisted suicide, care homes, news, prosecutions by sally

‘An 87-year-old woman was evicted from her care home because she advocated assisted suicide and staff feared they could be prosecuted if they did not stop her. Dorothy Brown, a former magistrate and lifelong supporter of a change in the law, was given notice to leave after carers came across a bottle of pills and an undated note and feared she could be about to make an attempt.’

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Daily Telegraph, 15th March 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Christian guesthouse owners go to Strasbourg over ‘discrimination’ case – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 17th, 2014 in civil partnerships, equality, hotels, human rights, married persons, news, sexual orientation discrimination by sally

‘A Christian couple who were told it was illegal to turn unmarried couples away from their guesthouse have launched a landmark legal case at the European Court of Human Rights.’

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Daily Telegraph, 15th March 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Alleged victims’ fury at failure to ban undercover police seduction tactics – The Guardian

Posted March 17th, 2014 in codes of practice, demonstrations, news, police, professional conduct, spying by sally

‘Eight women who say they were duped into forming long-term sexual relationships with undercover policemen have attacked the government’s failure to ban such behaviour in a newly published code of conduct. The Home Office policy suggests there will be a tightening of guidelines on undercover surveillance, but does not explicitly rule out officers engaging in sexual relationships with those being spied on or those who associate with the target. The new code – which is now open to consultation – merely says that intrusion into someone’s “private or family life”, even when they are not the direct targets of the surveillance, should be justified by the information that might be discovered.’

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The Guardian, 16th March 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Barry George takes compensation claim to Europe – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 17th, 2014 in compensation, human rights, imprisonment, murder, news by sally

‘ Barry George, the man wrongly accused of murdering TV presenter Jill Dando, is taking his £1 million compensation claim to the European Court of Human Rights. Mr George, 53, is seeking compensation for loss of earnings and wrongful imprisonment, after spending eight years in jail for a crime he did not commit.’

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Daily Telegraph, 16th March 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Metropolitan police strip searched more than 4,500 children in five years – The Guardian

Posted March 17th, 2014 in children, freedom of information, news, police, stop and search by sally

‘More than 4,500 children as young as 10 have been strip searched by the Metropolitan police over the past five years, data released under the Freedom of Information Act shows. The figures obtained by the Guardian show 4,638 children aged between 10 and 16 were asked to remove their clothes and then searched by police between April 2008 and the end of last year. Just over a third were released by police without charge.’

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The Guardian, 16th March 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

High court to rule on Chris Grayling’s legal aid cuts for prisoners – The Guardian

Posted March 17th, 2014 in budgets, judicial review, legal aid, news, prisons by sally

‘The high court will on Monday rule on a challenge by charities working with prisoners to the legality of legal aid cuts introduced by justice secretary Chris Grayling. The Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prisoners’ Advice Service (PAS) say vulnerable people in the prison system, including inmates with mental health problems and mothers with young babies, will suffer injustice.’

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The Guardian, 17th March 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Independent Police Complaints Commission plans overhaul after review – BBC News

Posted March 17th, 2014 in complaints, death in custody, mental health, news, police by sally

‘The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is to overhaul the way it investigates deaths at the hands of police in England and Wales.’

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BBC News, 17th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Suffolk Christmas Eve horse crash death owner jailed – BBC News

Posted March 14th, 2014 in horses, news, road traffic, sentencing by sally

‘A man whose horses wandered on to a main road on Christmas Eve, causing the death of a driver when four vehicles ploughed into them, has been jailed.’

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BBC News, 14th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police bid to obtain journalistic material refused – Supreme Court – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 14th, 2014 in closed material, disclosure, evidence, news, police by sally

‘R (on the application of British Sky Broadcasting Limited) (Respondent) v The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Appellant) [2014] UKSC 17. This was an appeal from a ruling by the Administrative Court that it was procedurally unfair, and therefore unlawful, for BSkyB to have had a disclosure order made against it without full access to the evidence on which the police’s case was based and the opportunity to comment on or challenge that evidence.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 13th March 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com