Independent Sentencing Review – gov.uk
“The Independent Sentencing Review, chaired by David Gauke, has published Part 1 of the report.”
gov.uk, 18th February 2025
Source: www.gov.uk
In depth: AI regulation falters as UK snubs international accord – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Legal controls over development and use of artificial intelligence hit an obstacle this week, as the US and UK refused to back a statement in support of AI regulation signed by 60 other countries.’
Law Society's Gazette, 18th February 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Repeat sex offender who ‘terrified’ girls jailed – BBC News
‘A reoffending paedophile who “terrified” two girls when he tried to indecently expose himself to them has been jailed for nearly four years.’
BBC News, 17th February 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Woman jailed for defrauding her neighbour of £290k – BBC News
‘A woman has been jailed for more than four years after defrauding her elderly neighbour out of his life savings.’
BBC News, 17th February 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Jamaican drug dealer avoids deportation after pledging to only smoke cannabis – not sell it – The Independent
‘A Jamaican drug dealer avoided deportation after he promised to only smoke cannabis and not sell it.’
The Independent, 17th February 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Woman awarded £94,000 payout after being sacked with a ‘jazz hands’ emoji while pregnant – The Independent
‘A woman whose boss fired her with a text containing a “jazz hands” emoji while she was ill from her pregnancy has been compensated nearly £94,000.’
The Independent, 17th February 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
MoD in legal battle over evacuation of Afghan special forces commandos to UK – The Independent
‘The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is embroiled in a legal battle over the evacuation of former Afghan special forces commandos to the UK.’
The Independent, 18th February 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Prison system crisis due to overreliance on long sentences, says Gauke review – The Guardian
‘Successive governments’ overreliance on prison sentences and desire to seem “tough on crime” have driven the justice system in England and Wales to the brink of collapse, an official review has found.’
The Guardian, 18th February 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
Freezing orders in England and Wales – OUT-LAW.com
‘A freezing order is a court order which prevents a party from disposing of or dealing with its assets. It is therefore an essential tool for those looking to protect assets to ensure those assets are available to satisfy a court order.’
OUT-LAW.com, 14th February 2025
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
Bits of interest – Nearly Legal
‘A couple of brief notes on things of interest.’
Nearly Legal, 16th February 2025
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Judicial Anonymity? Not this time. – UK Human Rights Blog
‘In Tickle & Anor v The BBC & Ors [2025] EWCA Civ 4, the Court of Appeal considered the High Court’s decision to anonymise the names of several judges who had made decisions in historic care proceedings and private family law proceedings (“the historic proceedings”).’
UK Human Rights Blog, 17th February 2025
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Subsidy control law and new statutory guidance – Local Government Lawyer
‘What do the changes to the statutory guidance on subsidy control mean for public authorities? Alexander Rose and Jonathan Branton explain.’
Local Government Lawyer, 14th February 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Court rejects divorcing husband’s conflict claim against solicitors – Legal Futures
‘The Family Court has rejected a divorcing husband’s claim that his wife’s solicitors are conflicted out of acting for her because of past work they did for the couple.’
Legal Futures, 17th February 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
SLS Hale Lecture: The Future of Law Reform – Law Commission
‘The Chair of the Law Commission, Sir Peter Fraser, delivered the SLS Hale Lecture 2024, which was organised by the Society of Legal Scholars and hosted by Swansea University’s School of Law.
The lecture was entitled ”The Future of Law Reform”.’
Law Commission, 13th February 2025
Source: lawcom.gov.uk
Stamp Duty Land Tax and Divorce – Financial Remedies Journal
‘This is sometimes the forgotten tax on divorce. Maybe this is fair enough as there is a pretty clear exemption in tax law that states that stamp duty land tax (SDLT) will not apply to transfers pursuant to divorce. However, the last few years have seen the introduction of two SDLT surcharges and when these two combine it creates a top rate of SDLT of 19% – a sizeable liability which should not be forgotten when factoring in housing costs.’
Financial Remedies Journal, 10th February 2025
Source: financialremediesjournal.com
Life ban for ex-football manager who hit linesman – BBC News
‘A former football manager has been fined and given a lifetime ban for punching a linesman during a match.’
BBC news, 14th February 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Family tributes as rail firm fined £4m for deaths – BBC News
‘The families of two workers who were struck and killed by a train following safety failures have spoken of the “irreplaceable void” in their lives as Network Rail is fined nearly £4m.’
BBC News, 14th February 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Special Forces blocked 2,000 credible asylum claims from Afghan commandos, MoD confirms – BBC News
‘UK Special Forces command rejected resettlement applications from more than 2,000 Afghan commandos who had shown credible evidence of service in units that fought alongside the SAS and SBS, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed for the first time.’
BBC News, 17th February 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
