‘A former prison officer has been jailed after admitting a sexual relationship with an inmate.’

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BBC News, 26th January 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A longstanding bugbear of mine is the lack of transparency over remedial discretion in published judicial review judgments, i.e. not seeing in published judgments what the remedy for a successful judicial review is. Often this is largely understandable, because the matter can only be addressed through further submissions after hand down.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 23rd January 2026

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘A British-based YouTube critic of the Saudi royal family has been awarded more than £3 million in compensation after his phone was hacked and he was subjected to a physical assault outside Harrods in London.’

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The Independent, 27th January 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘The saying “Fair’s fair” refers to the instinctive sense that acting fairly is what everyone should do, even if they don’t. However, local authorities and other public bodies have a duty to act fairly following the principles of natural justice. These are that no one is to be a judge in their own cause (nemo iudex in causa sua) and that the parties must have a fair opportunity of presenting their views on the matters in issue (audi alteram partem – hear the other side). But as Lord Bridge (pictured) observed in Lloyd v McMahon [1987] AC 625: “The so-called rules of natural justice are not engraved on tablets of stone. To use the phrase which better expresses the underlying concept, what the requirements of fairness demand when any body, domestic, administrative or judicial, has to make a decision which will affect the rights of individuals, depends on the character of the decision-making body, the kind of decision it has to make and the statutory or other framework in which it operates. In particular, it is well-established that when a statute has conferred on any body the power to make decisions affecting individuals, the courts will not only require the procedure prescribed by the statute to be followed, but will readily imply so much and no more to be introduced by way of additional procedural safeguards as will ensure the attainment of fairness.”‘

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Law Society's Gazette, 23rd January 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The crux of the issue in this appeal is both narrow and, to some degree, exceptionally broad. It is narrow in that the central issue before the Court of Appeal was “whether an application made under s.75(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983 by a mental health patient to the First-tier Tribunal while subject to a conditional discharge is extinguished by the recall to hospital of that patient by the Secretary of State for Justice under s42(3) of the Act”; a pithy, glamorous summary.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd January 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘A former Conservative councillor has pleaded guilty to committing a string of sexual offences, including multiple counts of rape, against his wife over a 13-year period.’

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BBC News, 23rd January 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Consumers claims law firms will be sizing up the business energy claims market after the Supreme Court allowed a key appeal on undisclosed commissions by consent.’

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Legal Futures, 26th January 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Every police officer in England and Wales will be required to hold a licence to be able to continue working, the Home Office has said.’

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BBC News, 23rd January 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has decided against relaxing its conflict of interest rule for panel members and chairs.’

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Legal Futures, 26th January 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘A Court of Appeal decision on the application of ‘dwelling’ in section 38 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and so whether sections 18 to 27A, the service charge protection provisions applied.’

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Nearly Legal, 25th January 2026

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

‘The UK Government’s Earned Settlement consultation proposes a fundamental shift in how migrants achieve Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). Instead of a time-based system, settlement would be earned through measurable contributions and integration. For the tech sector – one of the UK’s fastest-growing industries – these changes could have far-reaching consequences. If someone has ILR it means that there is no time limit on their ability to stay in the UK. They can work and study without restrictions and they are eligible for welfare benefits. For some people ILR is a step towards applying for British citizenship, usually one year after being granted ILR.’

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Kingsley Napley Immigration Law Blog, 22nd January 2026

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘The prescriptive nature of Diocesan Churchyard Regulations provides parochial clergy with delegated authority to allow memorials which fall within the certain specified criteria, although they are perfectly at liberty, should they wish, to decline to permit a memorial even though it complies with the Regulations. The case Re St. Cuthbert Kentmere [2025] ECC Car 12 demonstrates the progress of a petition to erect a headstone in the churchyard of St Cuthbert’s, Kentmere, from the initially unsuccessful approaches – informal and via the DAC – to discussions with the Chancellor, and final approval of the agreed format[*].’

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Law & Religion UK, 23rd January 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘The Supreme Court has ruled that a contractor does not have the immediate right to terminate a construction contract simply because a client has made two late payments.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd January 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘The financial campaigner James Daley has launched a £1.5bn class action lawsuit against Apple over its mobile phone wallet, claiming the US tech company blocked competition and charged hidden fees that ultimately harmed 50 million UK consumers.’

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The Guardian, 23rd January 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The Divisional Court (Males LJ, Bourne J) has dismissed a claim seeking to enforce unincorporated treaty obligations in strident terms. The judgment makes new points paving the way for the eventual disavowal by an appellate court (likely the UKSC) of the EOG principle, the principle that an executive commitment in policy to comply with unincorporated treaties provides a domestic foothold for a court to adjudicate compliance. The case is R (The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada and others) v Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology [2026] EWHC 91 (Admin).’

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Administrative Court Blog, 21st January 2026

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘Under conditions of managerial adaptability, employers structure their commercial affairs in such a way that they are able to access a ready and available pool of workers when demand is high, while retaining the flexibility to offload excess labour when business pressures tail off.1 And the relevant legal arrangements are usually put into effect in a manner that both insulates the hirer of services from exposure to external liability and saves labour, tax, social security, pension and other commercial costs. They are formalized via a plethora of elaborate commercial contracts, sometimes involving legal entities that are inter-positioned between the individual service providers and the business itself. This might be seen as “having one’s cake and eating it”, but it is undoubtedly a distinctive marker of the contemporary labour market currently serving both product and services markets.’

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Industrial Law Journal, 9th January 2026

Source: academic.oup.com