Care worker Lorenzo Bacus could have more victims, say police – BBC News
‘A care worker who has been jailed for abusing a male resident at a home could have struck before, say police.’
BBC News, 25th November 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Former Ukip regional chairman Peter Entwistle jailed for grooming children – The Independent
‘A former Ukip regional chairman has been jailed for almost five years for grooming children as young as 12 and possessing almost 200,000 indecent images of children.’
The Independent, 25th November 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Former Racial Equality Council leader jailed for identity theft – The Guardian
‘A respected campaigner on racial equality has been found guilty of stealing another man’s identity, living and working under the false name for more than 20 years.’
The Guardian, 25th November 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Notice period doubled from next spring for all marriages and civil partnerships – Free Movement
‘It has been announced today [24 November] by Minister for Security and Immigration James Brokenshire that Part 4 of the Immigration Act 2014 is to be brought into full effect on 2 March 2015. This amends the procedure for marriage and civil partnership for everyone (not just foreign nationals) and creates new powers for duties to report sham marriages and the investigation and preventing of sham marriages.’
Free Movement, 24th November 2014
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
Commons Registration – Local Government Law
‘County Councils in England, District Councils in England for an area without a County Council, London Borough Councils and County or County Borough Councils in Wales are “commons registration authorities”. The commons registration authority in relation to any land is the authority in whose area the land is situated. Where any land falls within the area of two or more commons registration authorities, the authorities may by agreement provide for one of them to be the commons registration authority in relation to the whole of the land.’
Local Government Law, 17th November 2014
Legitimate Expectations – Local Government Law
‘In Solar Century Holdings Ltd v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change [2014] EWHC 3677 (Admin) the submissions made for the Claimant included that (1) certain pre-legislative statements were admissible and in effect bound the Government, according to the principles laid down by Lord Steyn in R (Westminster City Council) v National Asylum Support Service [2002] UKHL 38 at paragraph 6, (2) certain statements made by the Government were “clear and unequivocal” representations which gave rise to a legitimate expectation, and (3) the expectation could not be trumped or thwarted by any of the policy considerations advanced by the Government. Green J rejected all these submissions. The case concerned renewable energy sources by way of large scale “solar farms”, governed by the Electricity Act 1989, as amended by the Energy Act 2013, and whether the Government was bound to maintain a particular scheme in place until 2017. Clear and repeated representations had been made to that effect, but they had always been qualified.’
Local Government Law, 17th November 2014
Tax Tribunal backlog reaches record high – OUT-LAW.com
‘The backlog of tax disputes waiting to be heard has reached a new record high with a particular surge in the number of high value cases lodged with the Upper Tribunal, according to Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.’
OUT-LAW.com, 25th November 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
Relief From Sanctions – Part 2 – Applying in Time – Zenith PI Blog
‘Mitchell [2014] 1 WLR 795 and Denton [2014] 1 WLR 3926 dealt with the situation of an application out of time, that is to say when the time had expired for performance of a step dictated by a rule or by practice direction or a court order had expired. But the further question arises, To what extent do the principles laid down there apply in the situation where one applies in time, that is to say before the expiry date? That is of great importance, because, if one is handling a case properly, it should become obvious, at least some days if not weeks in advance, that a particular time limit is not going to be able to be achieved. This may be for a variety of reasons, sometimes because of illness or – tell it not in Gath! – the delays of counsel. This matter was considered in depth fairly recently in Re Guidezone Ltd, Kaneria-v-Kaneria [2014] 1 WLR 3728, by Nugee J. In a full and careful judgment, the judge considered what was the position when an in-time application was made under CPR r.3.1(2)(a) for extension of time. He held that such an application was not an application for relief from sanctions, nor was it closely analogous to one. Therefore, Mitchell did not apply to it.’
Zenith PI Blog, 25th November 2014
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
Three convicted for axe killing of Paul Thrower – BBC News
‘Three teenagers who killed a man with an axe and a knife when he confronted them for abusing his girlfriend on a west London estate have been convicted.’
BBC News, 24th November 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
- SI 2014/3117 – The Jobseeker’s Allowance (18-21 Work Skills Pilot Scheme) Regulations 2014
- SI 2014/3090 – The Health Research Authority (Transfer of Staff, Property and Liabilities) and Care Act 2014 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2014
- SI 2014/3104 – The Fish Labelling (Amendment) Regulations 2014
- SI 2014/3103 – The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Covert Surveillance and Property Interference: Code of Practice) Order 2014
- SI 2014/3101 – The Policing and Crime Act 2009 (Commencement No. 9) Order 2014
Hospital had no plan to tackle autistic woman’s weight gain, coroner rules – The Guardian
‘A 25-year-old woman with severe autism died in a secure hospital after staff allowed her weight to balloon to 25 stone as she sat alone for years in a padded room, a coroner has ruled.’
The Guardian, 24th November 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Google to remove businessman’s online abuse from search results after High Court settlement – The Independent
‘A former Morgan Stanley banker has reached an agreement with Google that will see pages of online abuse removed from the search results for his name.’
The Independent, 24th November 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Terminally ill woman sues over cancer diagnosis delay – BBC News
‘A terminally ill woman who claims a hospital did not treat her suspected cancer as urgent has launched legal action against a health board.’
BBC News, 24th November 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Device user data retention laws to be introduced in UK – OUT-LAW.com
‘Internet service providers will be required to retain information detailing the IP addresses of internet users under proposed new UK anti-terrorism laws.’
OUT-LAW.com,
Source: www.out-law.com
Terror bill requires universities to ban extremist speakers – The Guardian
‘New powers for the home secretary to order universities to ban extremist speakers from their campuses are to be included in a new counter-terrorism bill.’
The Guardian, 24th November 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Only one London borough is acting on a law that helps protect tenants – The Independent
‘A new law is supposed to protect tenants from rogue letting agents – yet only one London authority appears to be implementing the new ruling.’
The Independent, 24th November 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
- Ocean Healthcare Ltd v Sigma Pharmaceuticals Plc [2014] EWCA Civ 1468 (24 November 2014)
- Lawal & Anor v Circle 33 Housing Trust [2014] EWCA Civ 1514 (24 November 2014)
- Yapp v Foreign And Commonwealth Office (Rev 1) [2014] EWCA Civ 1512 (21 November 2014)
- Adaptive Spectrum and Signal Alignment Inc v British Telecommunications Plc [2014] EWCA Civ 1513 (21 November 2014)
- Parratt, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Justice & Anor [2014] EWCA Civ 1478 (21 November 2014)
Merris Amos: The UK and the European Court of Human Rights – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘Now that the furore of the Scottish independence referendum has passed, the attention of politicians and media has once again turned to the dangers of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In his speech to the Conservative Party Conference in late September, Prime Minister David Cameron stated that the ECtHR needed “sorting out”. Three examples of its judgments were used to support this point: the prisoner voting litigation; the limits on deporting suspected terrorists, including Abu Qatada; and the extension of the HRA to the “battle-fields of Helmand”, an issue which the ECtHR has not directly adjudicated upon although it has given judgments concerning events in Iraq. Shortly after, the Conservative Party released its proposals for changing Britain’s human rights laws. Central to this is altering the relationship between the UK and the ECtHR so that its judgments are no longer binding over the UK Supreme Court and that it is no longer able to order a change in UK law. As any law student will know, this would be a waste of time as neither is currently possible in our dualist legal system. The judgments of the ECtHR are only binding in international law. To support these proposals, five examples of ECtHR judgments are given: prisoner voting; artificial insemination rights for some prisoners; limits on the deportation of foreign nationals who have committed crimes; and limits on the deportation of foreign nationals generally. The fifth example is the recent judgment on whole life tariffs which was misleadingly and erroneously portrayed as a decision that murderers cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment. It is clear that the Conservative Party is not expecting to receive votes from prisoners (who have no vote anyway), foreign nationals or members of the armed forces who also enjoy the protection of human rights law on the “battle-fields of Helmand”.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 24th November 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
Illegal immigration Bill – solution to a problem that doesn’t exist – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘Do we need any new laws? Christopher Chope, the Tory MP for Christchurch thinks so. He’s introduced the Illegal Immigrants (Criminal Sanctions) Bill 2014. It is short – only three clauses, and its aim is clear from the title, and this is made clear from the Preamble. This is a Bill to “Make provision for criminal sanctions against those who have entered the UK illegally or who have remained in the UK without legal authority”.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 24th November 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Stewart Jackson Fishponds car bomb hoaxer jailed for 20 months – BBC News
‘A man who admitted a bomb hoax in Bristol after he doused a car in fuel has been sent to prison for 20 months.’
BBC News, 24th November 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
