‘In HM Attorney General for England and Wales v British Broadcasting Corporation [2025] EWHC 1669 (KB), the Divisional Court (the Lady Chief Justice,the President of the King’s Bench Division, and Chamberlain J) gave judgment in relation to the deployment of evidence by MI5 in proceedings concerning the BBC’s reporting on a covert human intelligence source (CHIS), referred to as “X”. The judgment is quite extraordinary, including substantial criticism of the approach taken by MI5 in this case and specific guidance as to the way that evidence from an agency such as MI5 should be presented in future.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 29th July 2025

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘The two-child benefit cap is an intensely controversial policy brought in by the last Conservative government, and, despite some murmurings to the contrary, continues to be maintained by the current Labour one. The cap allows parents to claim certain welfare benefits with respect to their first two children, but prevents them from doing so with regard to their third (or further) children. Regulations have put in place a number of exceptions to the cap. For example, the cap does not apply to adopted children, nor does it apply when multiple additional children are born at the same time. There is also a (limited) exception for children born as a result of rape or a coercive or controlling relationship. But the applicability of the exception depends on when each child was born. The policy applies in such a way whereby when a third (or later) child is born as a result of rape or a coercive and controlling relationship, the parent will be excepted from the two-child cap. But if an earlier child or children (say, the first two children) are born as a result of rape or a coercive and controlling relationship, and the third child is not, they will be subject to the cap.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 28th July 2025

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘Two married police officers who were arrested after one of them smacked their teenage son have won a High Court battle over claims they were unlawfully detained.’

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The Independent, 28th July 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘The former chair of CILEX – who has previously called for a radical shift in the way lawyers are regulated – is to take over as chair of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) in September.’

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Legal Futures, 29th July 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘A Palestinian family who are trying to get the UK government to help them flee Gaza have won a critical ruling in their legal battle.’

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BBC News, 28th July 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘An award-winning homeless hostel in the constituency of the prime minister, Keir Starmer, has been lambasted after an independent investigation into the death of one of its residents.’

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The Guardian, 28th July 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘As of 25 July 2025, new child safety duties under the Online Safety Act have come into force, requiring online platforms to implement robust safety measures to prevent children from accessing illegal or harmful content. The consequences for non-compliance are significant, making it essential for online providers to understand their new obligations.’

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Criminal Law Blog, 28th July 2025

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for planning “brutal” sex offences against children, alongside his hospital worker girlfriend.’

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BBC News, 28th July 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The Court of Protection on occasion has to deal with those who are determined to stymie its jurisdiction. In Kirk v Devon County Council [2017] EWCA Civ 34, Sir James Munby, through gritted teeth, accepted that the end of the line had been reached in relation to a P who had been abducted to Portugal. In Re AB & Ors [2025] EWCOP 27 (T3), McKendrick J refused to accept that the end of the line had yet been reached in relation to a P abducted to Jamaica. His reasons for giving a detailed judgment setting out the background and the concerns relating to P were two-fold.’

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Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 28th July 2025

Source: www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk

‘The UK government’s ban on Palestine Action limits the rights and freedoms of people in the UK and is at odds with international law, the UN human rights chief has said.’

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The Guardian, 25th July 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Where information falls within multiple qualified exemptions, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) requires the public interest in maintaining each of those qualified exemptions to be aggregated, the Supreme Court has ruled by a 3-2 majority.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th July 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘The Appellant (A) brought a successful s. 204 appeal against Lambeth’s (R) decision to discharge the main housing duty by offering her and her children out of borough accommodation.’

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Nearly Legal, 27th July 2025

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

‘Two teenagers who smiled as they fatally stabbed a 14-year-old schoolboy on a bus have been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison.’

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The Guardian, 25th July 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘In Ministry of Defence v Global Media Entertainment Ltd and Ors, it can now be reported that the British government obtained a super-injunction which lasted nearly two years preventing the disclosure: (i) that a dataset had been leaked containing the personal information and contact details of nearly 19,000 persons who applied for relocation to the UK from Afghanistan following the Taliban coup in 2021; and (ii) of the very existence of the injunction itself.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 25th July 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The trial of an alleged escapee who spent hours on the roof of a high-security prison in his underpants is set to be the first time the stress caused by indeterminate sentences can be used as a legal defence.’

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The Guardian, 28th July 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Death, deceit and the lawyer who busted big Asbestosis. Rosalind English talks to author David Kinley and lawyer Richard Meeram about an international legal drama involving a UK mining company and its South African employees, tackling questions of corporate veil, forum and causation in a huge class action.’

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Law Pod UK, 28th July 2025

Source: audioboom.com

‘Two out of every five people arrested after participating in last summer’s riots had been previously reported to the police for domestic abuse, the Guardian can disclose.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A judge aggrieved at being denied promotion has had a partial victory in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in a challenge to secretive judicial appointment processes.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th July 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘It is a familiar principle of public law, and perhaps more generally the law relating to breach of statutory requirements, that where there has been non-compliance with such requirements in taking a decision, a court will often ask whether Parliament can be taken to have intended total invalidity of that decision. Call this the “Soneji question”, from the eponymous case (at [23]). This principle has been applied in a variety of cases, including the line of case law relating to “collateral challenges” against decisions of public authorities (e.g. Majera), as well as private law disputes (e.g. A1 Properties).’

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Administrative Court Blog, 26th July 2025

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘Survivors of coercive control are being unfairly criminalised in England and punished by a justice system that should be protecting them, research has found.’

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The Guardian, 27th July 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com