Baby P’s father sues The People for libel – BBC News

Posted February 28th, 2012 in defamation, media, news by sally

“The natural father of Baby Peter is suing the publishers of a Sunday newspaper for £130,000 for printing ‘one of the gravest libels imaginable’.”

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BBC News, 28th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police rape investigations criticised by watchdogs – BBC News

Posted February 28th, 2012 in news, police, rape, reports by sally

“Police have been criticised by watchdogs for failing to spot links between sex attacks and for not identifying rapists early enough. The Inspectorate of Constabularies and the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate said that intelligence had to be used in a more systematic way.”

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Full report

BBC News, 28th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Barclays £500m tax loophole closed by Treasury in rare retrospective action – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2012 in banking, HM Revenue & Customs, news, retrospectivity, tax avoidance by sally

“The Treasury has rushed in legislation to close down two ‘aggressive’ tax avoidance schemes that a high-street bank had disclosed to HM Revenue and Customs in an effort to avoid tax. As it announced highly unusual steps to take retrospective action to shut down the ‘highly abusive’ schemes, the Treasury refused to the name the bank involved, although the Guardian understands that it is Barclays. The bank has refused to comment.”

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The Guardian, 28th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

HSBC faces potential £3bn UK tax bill if it loses HM Revenue and Customs case – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2012 in banking, news, taxation by sally

“HSBC, the UK’s biggest bank, has admitted it faces a potential tax bill of up to up to $4.9bn (£3bn) if it loses an ongoing case with HM Revenue and Customs.”

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The Guardian, 28th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Occupy London protesters evicted by police – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2012 in appeals, demonstrations, news, repossession by sally

“Protesters camping at St Paul’s Cathedral in London as part of the Occupy movement have been evicted by police after losing a Court of Appeal challenge.”

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Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

New tax watchdog to stop ‘sweetheart deals’ with big firms – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2012 in HM Revenue & Customs, news, tax avoidance, taxation by sally

“A watchdog is to be appointed to ensure that the taxman does not strike overly-generous sweetheart deals with big firms trying to avoid multi-million pound bills.”

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Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Charlotte Church settles NoW phone-hacking claim for £600,000 – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2012 in costs, damages, interception, news, privacy by sally

“Charlotte Church and her parents have settled their phone-hacking claim against the publisher of the News of the World, News International, in an agreement worth £600,000 in damages and costs, the high court has heard.”

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The Guardian, 27th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Private detectives given jail terms for ‘blagging’ – BBC News

Posted February 27th, 2012 in confidentiality, fraud, interception, news, privacy, sentencing by sally

“Four private detectives have been given jail terms for conspiring to defraud people by ‘blagging’ personal information via persuasive phone calls.”

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BBC News, 27th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sentencing guideline for drug offences comes into force – Sentencing Council

Posted February 27th, 2012 in drug offences, news, sentencing by sally

“The new definitive guideline on drug offences will be used in all courts in England and Wales from 27 February 2012.”

Definitive guideline on drug offences (PDF)

Sentecning Council, 27th February 2012

Source: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk

Ombudsman sets out relationship with new Financial Conduct Authority – OUT-LAW.com

“The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has set out how it intends to co-operate with new regulator the Financial Conduct Authority .”

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Friends’-only postings not subject to ‘right to be forgotten’ rules, Commission says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 27th, 2012 in data protection, EC law, internet, news, privacy by sally

“The operators of social networking sites, such as Facebook, would not be obliged to delete every piece of information about individuals that they host under proposed new EU ‘right to be forgotten’ laws, the European Commission has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

 

Family arbitration – a soft launch or a hard landing? Some provisional thoughts – Family Law Week

Posted February 27th, 2012 in arbitration, dispute resolution, families, news by sally

“Family arbitration – a soft launch or a hard landing? Some provisional thoughts.”

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Family Law week, 26th February 2012

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Professional footballer brings race discrimination claim – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 27th, 2012 in employment tribunals, news, race discrimination, sport, unfair dismissal by sally

“Mark McCammon, 33, claims that he and other black players at Gillingham FC were treated differently to white players. The tribunal case, believed to be the first race discrimination claim brought by a professional footballer, comes amid widespread concern over racism in football.”

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Daily Telegraph, 26th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Stately home owners sue Coal Board for £100m claiming house is sinking – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 27th, 2012 in damages, miners, news by sally

“The owners of a stately home once described as ‘the finest’ Georgian house in England are mounting a claim for more than £100 million after claiming it has been devastated by mining substance.”

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Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Equality law ‘should be extended to cover faith’ – BBC News

Posted February 27th, 2012 in Christianity, equality, news, religious discrimination by sally

“A report on the status of Christianity in the UK says equality laws should cover people with religious beliefs.”

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BBC News, 27th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Adoptions: Ofsted issues tougher new rules – BBC News

Posted February 27th, 2012 in adoption, fostering, local government, news, ombudsmen by sally

“Local authorities in England will only get an outstanding rating for adoption in future if they place children within 12 months, Ofsted says.”

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BBC News, 27th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Legal wrangle throws spotlight on food labelling – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2012 in appeals, consumer protection, food hygiene, news, public interest by sally

“A landmark legal case revolving around a batch of frozen pigs’ tongues could change the way food use-by dates are enforced in the country. High Court judges ruled earlier last week that a business accused of selling food past its use-by date could counter a prosecution under food labelling laws by showing the product had in fact not needed a use-by date. Consumer experts fear that this interpretation could allow retailers to sell out-of-date food. The matter is being viewed as a test case for use-by dates, and similar cases across the country are being put on hold while it is dealt with.”

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 The Independent, 26th February 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Gypsies who pocketed £800,000 in benefits ordered to pay back £17.65 – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 25th, 2012 in assets recovery, benefits, fraud, news, sentencing, travellers by sally

“Two members of a Romany gypsy family who flew in and out of Britain to pocket more than £800,000 in benefits have been ordered to pay back just £17.65.”

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Daily Telegraph, 24th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Norfolk urbanisation protesters win High Court battle – BBC News

Posted February 25th, 2012 in demonstrations, environmental protection, local government, news, planning by sally

“Campaigners fighting town and city expansion in Norfolk have won a High Court battle with council planners. The group Snub (Stop Norwich Urbanisation), took action against Broadland District, South Norfolk District and Norwich City councils. The judge ruled that plans for 33,000 properties and the new Norwich northern distributor road had not been properly assessed.”

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BBC News, 24th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Metals trader fraudster given extra seven years – The Guardian

Posted February 25th, 2012 in administrators, assets recovery, fraud, news, sentencing by sally

“Viren Rastogi, the London metals trading tycoon behind one of Britain’s biggest ever frauds, has been ordered to serve seven years behind bars on top of an initial sentence of nine-and-a-half years because he has failed to return millions of pounds defrauded from 20 international banks.”

Full story

The Guardian, 24th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk