‘Ritchie v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2026] EWCC 50 concerned the effect of a lifetime settlement on a subsequent claim under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (‘FAA’) against a concurrent tortfeasor. HHJ Grimshaw granted summary judgment to the Defendant, holding that the Deceased’s earlier settlement with the manufacturer of a contaminated heater cooler unit (‘the Company’) had provided full satisfaction for the harm arising from his Mycobacterium Chimaera (‘MC’) infection. Applying Thompson v Arnold [2007] EWHC 1875 (QB) (‘Thompson’), and the principles concerning full satisfaction in Jameson & Anr v Central Electricity Generating Board [2001] 1 A.C. 455 and Heaton and Others v AXA Equity & Law Assurance Society PLC and Others [2002] 2 AC 329, the Judge concluded that the Deceased could not have maintained an action against the Defendant at the time of his death. The statutory condition in s1(1) FAA was therefore not satisfied, and the Claimant’s FAA claim could not succeed.’

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1 QMLR, 6th October 2026

Source: 1corqmlr.com

‘A man has been jailed for using a home-made bomb to destroy a newly installed Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) camera in southeast London. Kevin Rees, 64, placed the device next to the camera in Willersley Avenue, Sidcup, on 6 December 2023 before lighting the fuse and running away before the explosion.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 2nd October 2026

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

‘The majority of barristers (63%) think the public does not have access to an acceptable level of justice with some describing being “ashamed” of the state of the justice system, a new Bar Council report has found.’

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Bar Council, 5th October 2026

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘A judge has criticised ‘intended’ parents for failing to undertake sufficient due diligence when considering surrogacy – and has issued a warning for others intending to do the same.’

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Law Society Gazette, 5th October 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The High Court has granted the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) permission to appeal the Carter-Ruck ruling and issued a leapfrog certificate to take it straight to the Supreme Court.’

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Legal Futures, 6th October 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘A failed asylum seeker who tried to break into the Israeli embassy in London to carry out a knife attack has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.’

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BBC News, 5th October 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘An Afghan refugee who killed a dog walker and attacked two other people in a “frenzy of violence” has been given an indefinite hospital order and recommended for deportation.’

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BBC News, 5th October 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The number of children involved in care proceedings before they reach their first birthdays is at a persistently high level across England, according to experts who have published new figures.’

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BBC News, 6th October 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A prisoner took his own life after strict terrorism control measures imposed by the government had a “substantial impact” on his mental state, an inquest jury has concluded.’

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BBC News, 5th October 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of the Honourable Mrs Justice Morgan DBE as a Judicial Commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) for 3 years commencing 1 October 2026. The JAC is an independent body that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales, and for some tribunals with a UK-wide jurisdiction.’

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Ministry of Justice, 6th October 2026

Source: www.gov.uk

‘Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (“JCHR”), made up of members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, has concluded that the legal framework for AI regulation is “patchy and confused”. The conclusion features in the Committee’s latest report, “Human Rights and the Regulation of AI”, following an inquiry launched last year, to investigate whether existing law and regulation sufficiently protects human rights in the face of growing use of AI (paragraph references in what follows are to the Report).’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 25th September 2026

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

‘In the news […] In other news […] In the courts’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd October 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘R (on the application of Bano) v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2026] UKSC22. Bano has its origins in the acceptance of a housing duty on 23 February 2017, concluding just over 9 years later in the supreme court. Central to the case is the question is whether the effect of refusal to accept accommodation is to automatically bring the homelessness duty to an end, or whether notification of the termination of the duty is required.’

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Nearly Legal, 1st October 2026

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

‘The High Court has rejected a claim brought by a former US film maker against Rochdale Council over control of a grade II* listed stately home.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd October 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘The Court of Protection has cancelled six lasting powers of attorney because the certificate provider, though a member of the Society of Will Writers (SWW), was a convicted fraudster. A further 24 cases are set to be considered in light of the decision, in what were billed as test cases.’

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Legal Futures, 5th October 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘The claimants in the rugby head injuries group litigation must make a payment on account of more than £1.5 million to the defendants who are seeking costs of over £2.8m. After a half-day hearing on Friday Mr Justice Cotter, after retiring briefly with Senior Master Cook and Master Stevens made the order in an ex-tempore judgment.’

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Law Society Gazette, 5th October 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is taking legal action against Thames Valley Police in a bid to quash search warrants which led to his arrest. The former Duke of York has been granted permission to challenge whether the force acted lawfully in the searches relating to his arrest in February.’

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The Independent, 5th October 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘A decision by the Home Office to block mothers and children in Gaza from joining their families in the UK has been quashed by a court. […] A judge in the immigration court known as the upper tribunal has found the home secretary acted unlawfully in the way the [unsafe journeys] policy was applied to two families and has quashed the decision to block them.

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The Guardian, 4th October 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A former priest who established a “cult” within the Church of England has been found guilty of raping a woman in his congregation.’

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BBC News, 2nd October 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk