SRA pays Leigh Day £1m in costs to end disciplinary case – Legal Futures

‘The highly contentious Leigh Day disciplinary case has come to an end with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) paying the firm £1m in costs after the regulator’s unsuccessful appeal.’

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Legal Futures, 17th January 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Limit prosecutions of army veterans, says top human rights lawyer

Posted January 9th, 2019 in armed forces, limitations, news, prosecutions by sally

‘A statute of limitations could be used to prevent prosecution of military veterans for less serious historical offences, a leading human rights lawyer has suggested.’

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The Guardian, 8th January 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Police, military and courts lagging decades behind on ethnic diversity – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2018 in armed forces, diversity, judiciary, minorities, news, police by sally

‘Some of the groups wielding the most power in British society, such as the police, the judiciary and the military, are decades away from becoming as ethnically diverse as the population they serve, Guardian analysis has found.’

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The Guardian, 5th December 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court pulls plug on CFA-backed Kenya group action – Litigation Futures

Posted November 22nd, 2018 in armed forces, class actions, colonies, fees, Kenya, limitations, news, rape, torture by tracey

‘The High Court yesterday dismissed the group litigation brought on behalf of more than 40,000 claimants in the so-called Mau Mau case, after six years of work done by lawyers operating on a “no win, no fee” basis.’

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Litigation Futures, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Council secures Ofcom ruling in complaint of unfairness against Piers Morgan – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 27th, 2018 in armed forces, complaints, housing, local government, media, news by tracey

‘Herefordshire Council has welcomed regulator Ofcom’s decision to partly uphold a complaint of unfairness that it made against television presenter Piers Morgan.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th September 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Brecon Beacons SAS deaths: Call for MoD to face courts – BBC News

Posted September 20th, 2018 in armed forces, courts martial, criminal justice, immunity, negligence, news, prosecutions by tracey

‘The Ministry of Defence has not learned lessons from the deaths of three men on an SAS march and should lose its immunity from prosecution, an MP says.’

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BBC News, 19th September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Men acquitted after fatal SAS march in Brecon Beacons – BBC News

Posted September 19th, 2018 in armed forces, health & safety, negligence, news by sally

‘Two men overseeing an SAS selection march in which three reservists died have been acquitted of negligence.’

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BBC News, 18th September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

MoD accused of ‘land grab’ for attempting to turn common land into Army firing range – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 14th, 2018 in agriculture, armed forces, commons, news by tracey

‘MoD accused of ‘land grab’ for attempting to turn common land into Army firing range.’

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Daily Telegraph, 13th September 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Woman was murdered by stalker ex-boyfriend after police blunders, report finds – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 13th, 2018 in armed forces, murder, news, police, reports, stalking by tracey

‘A stalking victim was murdered by her ex-boyfriend after police left it to the soldier’s Army bosses to warn him about his behaviour, a report has found.’

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Daily Telegraph, 12th September 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Pair face court martial over three deaths on SAS test march – The Guardian

Posted September 4th, 2018 in armed forces, courts martial, duty of care, health & safety, news by sally

‘A major in the British army and a former officer are facing trial by court martial over the deaths of three men who suffered fatal heat illness during an SAS test march in the Brecon Beacons in south Wales.’

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The Guardian, 3rd September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Case Comment: R (Bashir & Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] UKSC 45 Part Two – UKSC Blog

‘The Supreme Court held that the terms of the Convention do not entitle the respondents to be resettled in the UK metropolitan territory. Overall, a state’s duties to a refugee reaching a particular territory – whose international relations the state controls – are in principle and in normal circumstances limited to providing and securing the refugee’s Convention rights in that context.’

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UKSC Blog, 24th August 2018

Source: ukscblog.com

Case Comment: R (Bashir & Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] UKSC 45 Part One – UKSC Blog

‘In a complex interim judgment dealing with threshold issues, the Supreme Court has asad-khanheld that both the Refugee Convention 1951 and the 1967 Protocol extend to the UK’s Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Britain occupied Cyprus between 1878 and 1960. Secretive deal making with the Ottoman Empire led the British Empire to forge an alliance with the Turks to protect them from Russia. The British initially occupied and administered Cyprus and ultimately annexed it upon the outbreak of the First World War when the British and the Turks found themselves fighting on opposite sides. Turkey recognised the annexation in the Treaty of Lausanne 1923 and that status continued until the settlement between the UK, Greece and Turkey in 1960 when Cyprus became a republic. Like Britain’s other Mediterranean possessions the island was of military and strategic importance rather than economic value. Upon independence in 1960, the UK retained sovereignty over the SBAs to accommodate military bases which are now the only notable British strategic assets in the eastern Mediterranean. These proceedings threw up a number of issues including the respondents’ entitlement to resettlement in the UK under the Convention, the validity of the UK-Cyprus Memorandum of Understanding of 2003 on illegal migrants and asylum seekers, and whether the UK is in principle entitled to discharge its obligations under the Convention by arranging for support to be provided by Cyprus?’

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UKSC Blog, 24th August 2018

Source: ukscblog.com

Sandhurst cadets allegedly waterboarded fellow recruit – report – The Guardian

Posted August 21st, 2018 in armed forces, bullying, news, torture by sally

‘Military police are investigating allegations that two cadets waterboarded a fellow recruit at Sandhurst military academy.’

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The Guardian, 18th August 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Soldier left with PTSD when RAF plane plummeted towards ground due to ‘bored pilot’ wins payout – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 7th, 2018 in aircraft, armed forces, compensation, news, post-traumatic stress disorder by sally

‘A soldier left with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when an RAF plane plummeted towards the ground due to a ‘bored pilot’ has won hundreds of thousands of pounds compensation from the MoD.’

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Daily Telegraph, 6th August 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Pte Sean Benton: Deepcut soldier’s death was suicide, coroner rules – BBC News

Posted July 19th, 2018 in armed forces, bullying, inquests, mental health, news, suicide by tracey

‘The death of a young soldier at Deepcut barracks 23 years ago was suicide, a coroner has ruled after a new inquest.’

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BBC News, 18th July 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Michael Maguire death: Army captain guilty of manslaughter – BBC News

Posted July 5th, 2018 in armed forces, courts martial, firearms, homicide, negligence, news by tracey

‘An Army captain has been convicted of gross negligence manslaughter at a court martial after a soldier was killed during a live fire exercise.’

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BBC News, 4th July 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Law Pod UK Ep. 35: Lessons from Bloody Sunday and Hillsborough – 1 COR

Posted June 18th, 2018 in armed forces, health & safety, inquests, inquiries, news, Northern Ireland by sally

‘Matthew Hill discusses the lessons and warnings from the Bloody Sunday inquiry and the Hillsborough inquest in this talk recorded at One Crown Office Row’s 2018 seminar.’

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Law Pod UK, 14th June 2018

Source: audioboom.com

Afghan interpreters’ UK immigration fee waived – BBC News

Posted May 4th, 2018 in Afghanistan, armed forces, fees, immigration, interpreters, news by tracey

‘Afghan interpreters who served with British troops fighting against the Taliban will be able to stay in the UK for free, the home secretary has said. More than 150 Afghans given five-year residency permits said they faced being sent back to Afghanistan when they expire, unless they paid £2,389 to apply for indefinite leave to remain. Sajid Javid said the fees have been waived.’

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BBC News, 8th May 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Reduced hourly rates for incurred costs and damages far lower than claimed “not good reasons” to depart from budget – Litigation Futures

Posted May 1st, 2018 in armed forces, budgets, costs, damages, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘Master Rowley has become the latest judge to rule that a reduction in hourly rates for incurred costs is not a good reason to do the same to budgeted costs.’

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Litigation Futures, 1st May 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Veronika Fikfak and Hayley J. Hooper: Whither the War Powers Convention? What Next for Parliamentary Control of Armed Conflict after Syria? – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘On Friday 13 April 2018 the Royal Air Force participated in air strikes (together with the United States and France) to degrade the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability and to deter further chemical attacks. This intervention in Syria was not authorised by the UN Security Council, nor was the involvement of British troops approved by the House of Commons. Instead, the decision to send British forces to Syria was made by The Prime Minister Theresa in conjunction with the Cabinet. Readers can view her public statement from 14 April 2018 here. Events unfolded this way despite governmental acknowledgement of a War Powers Convention in the 2011 Cabinet Manual.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 20th April 2018

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org