‘The House of Lords Constitution Committee’s new report on the rule of law provides an excellent overview of the concept and of the many challenges it finds itself under in the UK today. But the report’s focus on successive governments’ acts of constitutional negligence and recklessness that present challenges for the rule of law obscures a deeper, more existential question: namely, whether the UK constitution could withstand the sort of systemic constitutional vandalism that other democracies are experiencing today at the hands of populist and authoritarian regimes.’

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Public Law for Everyone, 20th November 2025

Source: publiclawforeveryone.com

In Smith & Anor v Manchester City Council [2025] EWHC 2987 (KB) the claimants, a married couple with strong evangelical Christian beliefs, wanted to foster children; however, their application did not progress beyond the first stage of the Council’s suitability assessment. One reason was that the social workers examining it concluded that they would find it “quite difficult to be proactive in promoting a diverse view of the world” [1]. They were particularly concerned about the claimants’ belief that homosexuality and abortion were wrong and their gender-critical views, and the possibility that they might express such views to any children entrusted to their care [2]. The couple took proceedings in the Manchester County Court claiming remedies under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010, but were unsuccessful [3 & 4], and appealed.

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Law & Religion UK, 21st November 2025

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘Belfast- based libel lawyer Paul Tweed is reportedly preparing a group action in the UK against technology providers (including OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Amazon) alleging that their AI chatbots and other AI-generated content breach defamation and privacy laws. The 2013 Defamation Act provides for certain protection for internet intermediaries —specifically the statutory defences found in Section 5. Under this section operators of websites hosting user-generated content may enjoy immunity from suit when they comply with regulations after being notified of defamatory material. Social media platforms or hosts are generally not liable under UK law unless they have knowledge, control, or refuse to act upon notice of defamatory content. Claims must typically be directed at the original author, and intermediary platform liability arises mainly if the author is unidentifiable or unreachable.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th November 2025

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘The legal sector of the future “may look very different to the one we know today”, with further regulatory reform needed to take advantage of the lawtech revolution, a report for the Ministry of Justice has said.’

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Legal Futures, 21st November 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘The former police officer and convicted sex offender David Carrick has been handed a 37th life sentence at the Old Bailey with a minimum of 30 years for molesting a 12-year-old girl and raping a former partner.’

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The Guardian, 20th November 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A personal trainer has revealed women’s activewear brand Sweaty Betty offered her a settlement of £4,000 over a disputed slogan if she agreed not to further challenge the firm’s use of it, and agreed to keep the deal confidential.’

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BBC News, 21st November 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The chief constable of Northamptonshire police has been fined £50,000 for contempt of court, with his force condemned by three senior judges.’

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The Guardian, 20th November 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The central issue in this case relates to the claimant’s application for Bereavement Support Payments (BSP) following the death of his wife. Under the terms of the Pensions Act 2014, BSP will only be paid to a surviving partner if a so-called “contribution condition” is met. This means, in effect, that the deceased partner needs to have contributed to National Insurance payments for at least one tax year during their working life. The claimant’s wife did not meet this condition – she was severely disabled and could not work during the relevant period. The claimant therefore did not qualify for BSP.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 20th November 2025

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘A fully digitised collection of the records of the Nuremberg trials is being launched online to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the groundbreaking legal effort to bring Nazi leaders to justice.’

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The Guardian, 20th November 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Criminals will be stopped from “gaming the system” by choosing trial by jury in order to increase the chances of proceedings collapsing, the courts minister has said, promising to enact radical changes to limit jury trials by the next election.’

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The Guardian, 20th November 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A judge has decided against referring a solicitor to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for citing two fake cases generated by artificial intelligence (AI).’

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Legal Futures, 20th November 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Convicted rapist and former Met police officer David Carrick has received an additional life sentence.’

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BBC News, 20th November 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The parents of a nine-month-old baby who died after choking at nursery say after four years of “unimaginable pain, perseverance and emotional endurance” they are glad to have reached a financial settlement.’

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BBC News, 20th November 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

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The Guardian, 20th November 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The convictions of three young black men for murder after a controversial 2017 prosecution under the “joint enterprise” legal doctrine have been referred back to the court of appeal.’

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The Guardian, 19th November 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Reform’s only Welsh Parliament member has been banned from the Senedd chamber for 14 days after using a racial slur to describe Chinese people.’

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BBC News, 19th November 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Prosecutors have revealed several legal hurdles they faced to bring former Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick to justice for a second time.’

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The Independent, 19th November 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘The 50-year-old, who has already been jailed for life, has been convicted of molesting the girl in the late-1980s, when he was 14, and raping the woman during a relationship more than 20 years later.’

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BBC News, 19th November 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A primary school headteacher has been banned from the classroom for storing alcohol in her office and drinking on school premises.’

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The Independent, 19th November 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Shabana Mahmood and David Lammy have been found to have breached a prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment with respect to a prisoner who spent months segregated from other inmates, in what is believed to be a legal first.’

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The Guardian, 19th November 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com