February 2012 – Page 2 – Current Awareness

Edgerton v Edgerton and another – WLR Daily

Posted February 28th, 2012 in appeals, estoppel, financial provision, law reports by tracey

Edgerton v Edgerton and another: [2012] EWCA Civ 181; [2012] WLR (D) 47

“Where the High Court had made a final decision which was binding on the parties and conclusively determined the ownership of assets, the parties were estopped from arguing in proceedings in another division of the High Court that the ownership of the disputed assets was different. If one party wished to argue that the earlier decision should not bind the parties because it had been obtained by fraud or collusion, the proper course was to apply to set aside the first judgment.”

WLR Daily, 24th February 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted February 28th, 2012 in legislation by tracey

The Local Authority (Referendums Relating to Council Tax Increases) Regulations 2012

The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2012

The School Governance (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012

The Authorised Investment Funds (Tax) (Amendment) Regulations 2012

The Special Health Authorities (Establishment and Constitution Orders) Amendment Order 2012

The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Amendment Regulations 2012

The Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2012

The Street Works (Charges for Occupation of the Highway) (England) Regulations 2012

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted February 28th, 2012 in parliamentary papers by tracey

Public Bodies Act 2011: consultation on an order to give legal effect to the administrative merger of the Crown Prosecution Service and Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, Cm 8250 (PDF)

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk

Illegal workers and benefit abusers targeted – Home Office

Posted February 28th, 2012 in benefits, fingerprints, fraud, immigration, press releases by tracey

“Immigration Minister Damian Green announced the expansion of the Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) system to help tackle immigration abuse by proving a person’s right to work or access services in the UK.”

Full press release

Home Office, 27th February 2012

Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Groups of employees must act on behalf of a particular client to be protected by TUPE, tribunal rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 28th, 2012 in appeals, employment, employment tribunals, news, transfer of undertakings by tracey

“The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) held that in order to be considered an ‘organised grouping of employees’ under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), workers with the Eddie Stobart haulage company had to be organised according to the requirements of the client. It was not enough that, although the workers principally carried out activities on behalf of that client, they were organised according to their shifts.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 27th February 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Moet Hennessy manager stole £75,000 of champagne – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2012 in compensation, news, sentencing, theft by tracey

“Romain Brunot, 30, syphoned off 400 bottles of vintage Krug and 400 bottles of Belvedere vodka, including 28 six litre bottles, over a four year period from Moet Hennessey.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Prince Charles’s friend forced to give wife £260,000 in divorce payout – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2012 in appeals, divorce, financial provision, news by tracey

“Libor Krejci, a property developed described as a ‘polo-playing friend of Prince Charles’ who was accused of leaving his seriously ill wife penniless and bankrupt, will be forced to give her £260,000 divorce payout, a court has ruled.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Fresh legal challenge on badger culling – BBC News

Posted February 28th, 2012 in animals, news by tracey

“The Badger Trust has launched a new legal challenge to the government’s plans to cull badgers in England.”

Full story

BBC News, 27th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Justice will not be done – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2012 in asylum, children, civil justice, legal aid, news by tracey

“The Crown Prosecution Service, the Met and the Home Office have all recently been forced to pay out compensation to children. In one case, a teenage witness was put at risk; in the other 40 asylum seekers were locked up in adult units. All three organisations have sought to reassure the public that policy and procedures have changed as a result. But what would have happened to these cases had the legal aid bill (Laspo), now approaching report stage in the Lords, already become law?”

Full story

The Guardian, 27th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Culture’ of illegal payments to officials existed at The Sun, says senior Met officer – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2012 in corruption, inquiries, media, misfeasance in public office, news, police by tracey

“Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) Sue Akers, who is leading the Metropolitan Police’s latest inquiries into allegations of phone hacking, email hacking and corrupt payments, said payments did not amount to an ‘odd drink or meal’ but ‘frequent’ and ‘sometimes significant’ amounts.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Army Major given suspended jail term for possession of secret documents – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2012 in armed forces, courts martial, documents, firearms, news, suspended sentences by tracey

“Major Robert Armstrong, who was awarded the MC for gallantry three years ago, faced a court martial for separate charges, including the possession of secret documents which the judge said could have undermined national security.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Baby P’s father sues The People for libel – BBC News

Posted February 28th, 2012 in defamation, media, news by tracey

“The natural father of Baby Peter is suing the publishers of a Sunday newspaper for £130,000 for printing ‘one of the gravest libels imaginable’.”

Full story

BBC News, 28th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police rape investigations criticised by watchdogs – BBC News

Posted February 28th, 2012 in news, police, rape, reports by tracey

“Police have been criticised by watchdogs for failing to spot links between sex attacks and for not identifying rapists early enough. The Inspectorate of Constabularies and the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate said that intelligence had to be used in a more systematic way.”

Full news story

Full report

BBC News, 28th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Barclays £500m tax loophole closed by Treasury in rare retrospective action – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2012 in banking, HM Revenue & Customs, news, retrospectivity, tax avoidance by tracey

“The Treasury has rushed in legislation to close down two ‘aggressive’ tax avoidance schemes that a high-street bank had disclosed to HM Revenue and Customs in an effort to avoid tax. As it announced highly unusual steps to take retrospective action to shut down the ‘highly abusive’ schemes, the Treasury refused to the name the bank involved, although the Guardian understands that it is Barclays. The bank has refused to comment.”

Full story

The Guardian, 28th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

HSBC faces potential £3bn UK tax bill if it loses HM Revenue and Customs case – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2012 in banking, news, taxation by tracey

“HSBC, the UK’s biggest bank, has admitted it faces a potential tax bill of up to up to $4.9bn (£3bn) if it loses an ongoing case with HM Revenue and Customs.”

Full story

The Guardian, 28th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Occupy London protesters evicted by police – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2012 in appeals, demonstrations, news, repossession by tracey

“Protesters camping at St Paul’s Cathedral in London as part of the Occupy movement have been evicted by police after losing a Court of Appeal challenge.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

New tax watchdog to stop ‘sweetheart deals’ with big firms – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2012 in HM Revenue & Customs, news, tax avoidance, taxation by tracey

“A watchdog is to be appointed to ensure that the taxman does not strike overly-generous sweetheart deals with big firms trying to avoid multi-million pound bills.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Charlotte Church settles NoW phone-hacking claim for £600,000 – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2012 in costs, damages, interception, news, privacy by tracey

“Charlotte Church and her parents have settled their phone-hacking claim against the publisher of the News of the World, News International, in an agreement worth £600,000 in damages and costs, the high court has heard.”

Full story

The Guardian, 27th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk