BA fuel surcharge fine halved by OFT – The Guardian

Posted April 19th, 2012 in airlines, consumer protection, fines, news, price fixing by tracey

“The Office of Fair Trading has more than halved a £121.5m fine levied against British Airways for colluding with Virgin Atlantic in a fuel surcharge scam. The consumer watchdog reduced the fine to £58.5m to reflect new guidelines for financial sanctions and BA’s co-operation with the inquiry. Virgin Atlantic escaped any penalty because it blew the whistle on the collusion over setting fuel surcharges between 2004 and 2006.”

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The Guardian, 19th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Director of Public Prosecutions Kier Starmer admits CPS ‘faces tough decisions’ on phone hacking cases – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 19th, 2012 in interception, media, news, police, prosecutions, telecommunications by tracey

“Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer says each of the four files presented to the CPS on phone hacking will be considered as an individual case.”

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Daily Telegraph, 18th April 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

May’s bid to deport Qatada descends into farce – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 19th, 2012 in appeals, deportation, human rights, news, terrorism, time limits by tracey

“The deportation of Abu Qatada descended into farce after a potential blunder by the Home Office allowed his lawyers to lodge a last-minute appeal which could extend his stay in Britain and derail attempts to remove him from the country.”

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Daily Telegraph, 18th April 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Ofcom: press self-regulation could work – The Guardian

Posted April 18th, 2012 in codes of practice, media, news by sally

“Newspaper proprietors and editors hoping to stop David Cameron introducing statutory regulation of the press won support today from the broadcasting regulator Ofcom.”

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The Guardian, 18th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Still suffering from an accident for which you weren’t to blame? – The Guardian

Posted April 18th, 2012 in fees, insurance, legal aid, news, personal injuries by sally

“To nobody’s surprise, the government last night rejected arguments on behalf of mesothelioma sufferers and overturned a Lords amendment that would have exempted them from the effects of Part 2 of the legal aid bill (known as the Jackson reforms).”

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The Guardian, 18th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted April 18th, 2012 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Stapylton v R [2012] EWCA Crim 728 (18 April 2012)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Ford v Financial Services Authority & Anor [2012] EWHC 997 (Admin) (18 April 2012)

High Court (Commercial Court)

Finmoon Ltd & Anor v Baltic Reefers Management Ltd & Ors [2012] EWHC 920 (Comm) (17 April 2012)

Source: www.bailii.org

DPP launches public consultation on cases affecting the media – Crown Prosecution Service

“Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), has today published interim guidelines on the approach prosecutors should take when assessing the public interest in cases affecting the media.”

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Crown Prosecution Service, 18th April 2012

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted April 18th, 2012 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Mullen & Ors, R. v (Rev 1) [2012] EWCA Crim 606 (01 March 2012)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

Adams v The Law Society of England and Wales & Ors [2012] EWHC 980 (QB) (17 April 2012)

High Court (Administrative Court)

The Manydown Company Ltd. v Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) (17 April 2012)

Source: www.bailii.org

Employment cannot transfer automatically from one employer to another without a relevant TUPE transfer – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 18th, 2012 in appeals, contract of employment, employment tribunals, news by sally

“An individual’s employment cannot be automatically transferred to another employer without following the proper procedures under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations, a tribunal has confirmed.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Jack Straw faces legal action over Libya rendition claims – The Guardian

Posted April 18th, 2012 in damages, intelligence services, Libya, news, rendition, torture by sally

“A former Libyan dissident who was abducted and flown to one of Muammar Gaddafi’s prisons in a so-called rendition operation mounted with the help of MI6 has started legal proceedings against Jack Straw, who was British foreign secretary at the time.”

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The Guardian, 18th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Raithatha v Williamson (a bankrupt) – WLR Daily

Posted April 18th, 2012 in law reports, pensions, trustees in bankruptcy by sally

Raithatha v Williamson (a bankrupt) [2012] EWHC 909 (Ch); [2012] WLR (D) 115

“A trustee in bankruptcy was entitled to obtain an income payments order under section 310 of the Insolvency Act 1986 where a bankrupt had an entitlement to a payment under his pension scheme not merely where the scheme was in payment of benefit but also where, under the rules of the scheme, the bankrupt would be entitled to payment merely by asking for payment.”

WLR Daily, 4th April 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Names of staff members who dealt with complaints are not necessarily personal data, Tribunal says – OUT-LAW.com

“The names of three junior members of staff who had handled complaints made to the financial services regulator should have been disclosed as part of a freedom of information request as disclosure ‘did not adversely affect their privacy’, a tribunal has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Ken Clarke climbs down on legal aid for domestic violence – The Guardian

Posted April 18th, 2012 in bills, criminal justice, domestic violence, legal aid, news by sally

“Victims of domestic violence will be given greater access to legal aid to fund civil cases against abusive partners, Kenneth Clarke announced on Tuesday as the government made a U-turn on some of its controversial reforms. The justice secretary described the amendments to the legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders bill as ‘fairly formidable’.”

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The Guardian, 17th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supergrass deals let 150 criminals walk free in secret – Daily Telegraph

“More than 150 criminals, potentially including terrorists, have been secretly given immunity from prosecution or discounted sentences for becoming supergrasses.”

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Daily Telegraph, 18th April 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Revenue to appear in court over Goldman Sachs ‘sweetheart’ deal – The Guardian

Posted April 18th, 2012 in banking, HM Revenue & Customs, national insurance, news, tax avoidance by sally

“Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will be forced to defend itself in court against allegations that it gave one of the world’s most profitable banks a sweetheart deal on the repayment of unpaid taxes worth up to £20m.”

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The Guardian, 18th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

College of Law sale prompts call for private equity veto – The Guardian

Posted April 17th, 2012 in charities, legal education, news, private equity, universities by sally

“The government is being urged to prevent universities being bought by private equity firms after the College of Law, a charity that provides teaches law courses in London and six other cities across England, was sold to a private equity firm for £200m.”

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The Guardian, 17th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Caretaker Austin Kelly jailed over child abuse – The Independent

Posted April 17th, 2012 in child abuse, news, sentencing by sally

“A caretaker who systematically abused numerous young boys over a 30-year period has been branded a ‘depraved, predatory’ paedophile and jailed for 13-and-a-half years.”

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The Independent, 17th April 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Sexual offender prisoners were unlawfully denied certain privileges under prison rules – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted April 17th, 2012 in news, prisons, rehabilitation, sexual offences by sally

“Hard on the heels of MP comes another case on the unlawful restriction of discretion with regard to prison rules (see my post on that decision). This case concerned national policy relating to prison incentives and the earned privileges scheme (IEP). The scheme gave enhanced status to convicted sex offenders who had been assessed as unready for a sexual offences training programme.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th April 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Southeastern trains prosecuted for train overshooting station by more than two miles – The Independent

Posted April 17th, 2012 in health & safety, news, railways by sally

“A rail company is to be prosecuted after one of its trains overshot a station by nearly two-and-a-half miles.”

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The Independent, 17th April 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Abu Qatada can be deported to Jordan, says Theresa May – The Guardian

Posted April 17th, 2012 in deportation, human rights, news, terrorism by sally

“The home secretary has ordered that the radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada be deported to Jordan at the end of the month.”

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The Guardian, 17th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk