Cow manure fetishist jailed for five years for death threats to farm owners – The Independent

‘A man with a fetish for rolling naked in cow manure has been sentenced to five years in jail after he threatened to kill a family when they tried to stop him from targeting their farm.’

Full story

The Independent, 30th May 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Midwives can take leading role in abortions – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 2nd, 2014 in abortion, midwives, news by sally

‘New guidelines, attacked by MPs and campaigners, clarify that nurses and midwives can ‘administer abortion drugs’ if doctors remain ‘in charge throughout”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 2nd June 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘New press regulator will result in more false stories that victimise the weak’ – The Guardian

Posted June 2nd, 2014 in complaints, freedom of expression, inquiries, media, news by sally

‘The big newspaper groups are setting up their own industry watchdog, Ipso, but it will be a toothless creature loyal only to its keepers, not the public.’

Full story

The Guardian, 31st May 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Children suffer as cuts to legal aid penalise parents in court – The Independent

Posted June 2nd, 2014 in budgets, children, custody, legal aid, litigants in person, news by sally

‘Almost half of all parents fighting to get access to their children through the courts are being made to do so without legal advice, family magistrates warn today.’

Full story

The Independent, 1st June 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Stephen Lawrence murder: IPCC to investigate officers – BBC News

Posted June 2nd, 2014 in complaints, inquiries, murder, news, police, professional conduct by sally

‘Claims of “discreditable conduct” by Metropolitan Police officers after the murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence are to be probed by the police watchdog.’

Full story

BBC News, 2nd June 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Fraudulent faith healer jailed for 10 years – The Guardian

‘A woman who posed as a faith healer to con vulnerable victims out of almost £1m has been jailed for 10 years.’

Full story

The Guardian, 30th May 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bristol man Nirmal Gill jailed for 17 years for murdering wife – BBC News

Posted June 2nd, 2014 in domestic violence, murder, news, sentencing by sally

‘A former soldier who murdered his wife after discovering she was having an affair with her ex-husband has been jailed for 17 years.’

Full story

BBC News, 28th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted May 30th, 2014 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

R v DS [2014] EWCA Crim 933 (01 May 2014)

Family Court Decisions (other Judges)

Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council v RB & Ors [2014] EWFC B62 (OJ) (21 May 2014)

Surrey County Council v H & Ors [2014] EWFC B63 (OJ) (23 May 2014)

Source: www.bailii.org

Sean Rigg custody death officer quits Metropolitan Police – BBC News

‘The police watchdog has urged the Metropolitan Police to stop an officer quitting so he can face misconduct proceedings after a death in custody.’

Full story

BBC News, 29th May 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Care for teenage karate champion so bad it ‘breached human rights’, coroner rules – Daily Telegraph

‘Dana Baker, who represented Great Britain in karate, killed herself after “serious and systematic failings” in her care by a council that was too busy and overworked to help her.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 29th May 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Competition law and covenants restrictive of land use – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted May 30th, 2014 in competition, news, restrictive covenants by sally

‘Covenants restricting use of land to particular commercial purposes are commonplace. Until recently, the potential for competition law to regulate them was limited, because “land agreements” were excluded from the reach of the Chapter I Prohibition under the Competition Act 1998. The exclusion has, however, been revoked by the Competition Act 1998 (Land Agreements Exclusion Revocation Order) 2010. The OFT has also provided guidance on the application of competition law in this field.’

Full story

Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 30th May 2014

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Skull Cracker jailed for life after raiding same building society 13 years later – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 30th, 2014 in fugitive offenders, news, robbery, sentencing by sally

‘Michael Wheatley, who is known as the Skull Cracker, is jailed for life for raiding building society while on the run from an open prison.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 29th May 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘Witch doctor’ faces jail for £1m con tricks – The Independent

Posted May 30th, 2014 in complementary medicine, fraud, news by sally

‘A “witch doctor” who conned vulnerable people into giving her £1m to pay for spiritual cures for their serious health problems is facing a substantial jail term, a judge said on Thursday.’

Full story

The Independent, 29th May 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Deportation reprieve for Nigerians amid female genital mutilation fears – The Guardian

Posted May 30th, 2014 in deportation, female genital mutilation, news by sally

‘Government lawyers cancel the removal of Afusat Saliu and her two daughters, after they were taken from their home in Leeds.’

Full story

The Guardian, 29th May 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 3) – WLR Daily

Regina (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 3) [2014] EWCA Civ 708; [2014] WLR (D)  237

‘A leaked diplomatic cable published on the internet by a third party did not violate the archive and documents of the diplomatic mission which sent the cable since it had already been disclosed to the world by a third party. On that narrow ground it was admissible as evidence in court. However, even if the evidence in question had been admitted, it would not have led to a different decision and therefore was not a ground for allowing the appeal.’

WLR Daily, 23rd May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

R (JG) v Lord Chancellor (Law Society intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted May 29th, 2014 in appeals, apportionment, care orders, costs, expert witnesses, law reports, legal aid by michael

R (JG) v Lord Chancellor (Law Society intervening) [2014] EWCA Civ 656;  [2014] WLR (D)  235

‘Where a child who was a party to private law proceedings under the Children Act 1989 had the benefit of public funding in respect of his costs and the court considered that it was necessary to instruct a single joint expert to produce a report to assist the court in determining what was in the best welfare interests of the child, but the other parties had no funding and were unable to pay their share of the expert’s costs, the court could depart from the order that it would otherwise have made, to the greater cost of the publicly funded party, where the failure to adduce the expert’s report would result in a breach of one of the party’s rights under articles 6 or 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the court was not prevented from doing so by section 22(4) of the Access to Justice Act 1999. Where, in the case of a single joint expert, there was no problem over resources, there was no normal rule of equal apportionment of the costs, and that issue of apportionment was to be determined in the exercise of the court’s discretion, taking into account the particular circumstances of the case.’

WLR Daily, 21st May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Abbey Forwarding Ltd (in liquidation) and another v Hone and others (No 3) – WLR Daily

Posted May 29th, 2014 in appeals, damages, freezing injunctions, injunctions, law reports by michael

Abbey Forwarding Ltd (in liquidation) and another v Hone and others (No 3) [2014] EWCA Civ 711;  [2014] WLR (D)  236

‘When determining questions of compensation for loss arising as a result of a freezing order and the undertaking in damages therein, the correct approach was that the remote consequences of obtaining an injunction were not to be taken into account in assessing damages but that logical and sensible adjustments might well be required simply because the court was not awarding damages for breach of contract but was compensating for loss caused by the injunction which was wrongly granted.’

WLR Daily, 23rd May 2014

Source: www.iclr.org.uk

Regina (Privacy International and others) v Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Commissioners – WLR Daily

Posted May 29th, 2014 in disclosure, HM Revenue & Customs, law reports, third parties by michael

Regina (Privacy International and others) v Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2014] EWHC 1475 (Admin);  [2014] WLR (D)  234

‘The margin of discretion afforded HM Revenue and Customs Commissioners in considering whether to disclose to a third party information about its export control functions under section 18(2)(a) and (d) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 could not be uniformly categorised and would vary according to the facts. It might be, in some circumstances, materially or even very substantially circumscribed but in other cases it might be relatively broad and there was no convincing wisdom in seeking to categorise the margin in quantitative terms that were wide, middling or narrow.’

WLR Daily, 12th May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

In re Lehman Brothers (International) (Europe) (in administration) (No 5) – WLR Daily

In re Lehman Brothers (International) (Europe) (in administration) (No 5); Contrarian Funds LLC v Lomas and others [2014] EWHC 1687 (Ch);  [2014] WLR (D)  233

‘Approach of court to applications for extensions of time under the Insolvency Rules 1986 in light of the reformulation of CPR r 3.9 and the test to be applied on an application for relief from sanctions.’

WLR Daily, 23rd May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (Wiltshire Council) v Hertfordshire County Council – WLR Daily

Regina (Wiltshire Council) v Hertfordshire County Council [2014] EWCA Civ 712;  [2014] WLR (D)  229

‘Where a person had been made subject to a hospital order with restrictions, then conditionally discharged, then recalled to hospital, and then conditionally discharged for a second time, for the purposes of section 117(3) of the Mental Health Act 1983 he was still to be treated as “resident in the area” of the same local authority as that in which he lived before the original hospital order was made.’

WLR Daily, 22nd May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk