‘Southport killer Axel Rudakubana’s sentence was not unduly lenient and will not be referred to the Court of Appeal, the attorney general has said.’
The Independent, 14th February 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘One of the best lessons I was given by my pupil supervisors in drafting written submissions was to go back and review the use of every adjective. As they pointed out, there is always a temptation in written advocacy to use excited adjectives, but the cumulative effect often makes the submission less, rather than more, persuasive.
That drafting advice is one that could usefully have been heeded by the authors of the recent paper by Policy Exchange (“PE”) attacking the new Legal Risk Guidelines for government lawyers published by the Attorney General, Lord Hermer KC (“the 2024 Guidelines”).’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 4th December 2024
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘On 14 October 2024, the Attorney General Lord Hermer KC delivered the 2024 Bingham Lecture titled “The Rule of Law in an Age of Populism.”‘
Attorney General's Office, 15th October 2024
Source: www.gov.uk
‘The Attorney General, Lord Hermer KC, has announced he is to issue amended guidance for assessing legal risk across government that will seek to “raise the standards for calibrating legality”.’
Local Government Lawyer, 16th October 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Keir Starmer’s most senior legal adviser has intervened in the contentious decision over whether to ban UK arms sales to Israel, the Guardian has learned, as officials struggle to distinguish between “offensive” and “defensive” weapons.’
The Guardian, 25th August 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure have been updated with guidance on digital materials, the Solicitor General has confirmed.’
Attorney General's Office, 29th February 2024
Source: www.gov.uk
‘The attorney general is considering whether judges should review the sentence of the Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane after receiving a submission that it could be unduly lenient.’
The Guardian, 26th January 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Figures released as part the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme annual statistics for 2022 show there were 23 child sex offence sentence increases. This was followed by 10 sentences increased for rape offences and 7 for cases involving grievous bodily harm.’
Attorney General's Office, 17th October 2023
Source: www.gov.uk
‘A man jailed for at least 28 years for murdering his 10-month-old stepson could see his sentence increased.’
BBC News, 22nd August 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A woman who permanently blinded a taxi driver in one eye after a frenzied attack with her high heels has been jailed for three years.’
Attorney General's Office, 7th August 2023
Source: www.gov.uk
‘The Attorney General and Solicitor General are the UK government’s principal legal advisors. Known collectively as the Law Officers, the origins of these ancient constitutional officers date back to the 13th Century. Historically, the Law Officers were leading barristers who acted as the Crown’s personal lawyers, fiercely representing their interests in legal proceedings. As political power passed from the Crown to the Prime Minister and their Cabinet, the Law Officers eventually became salaried ministers. Appointed and removed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister, Law Officers today are typically qualified lawyers with experience in practice who are also political figures; as members of one of the Houses of Parliament, a member of government, and senior member of the governing political party.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 31st January 2023
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The Attorney General and Solicitor General are the UK government’s principal legal advisors. Known collectively as the Law Officers, the origins of these ancient constitutional officers date back to the 13th Century. Historically, the Law Officers were leading barristers who acted as the Crown’s personal lawyers, fiercely representing their interests in legal proceedings. As political power passed from the Crown to the Prime Minister and their Cabinet, the Law Officers eventually became salaried ministers. Appointed and removed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister, Law Officers today are typically qualified lawyers with experience in practice who are also political figures; as members of one of the Houses of Parliament, a member of government, and senior member of the governing political party.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 31st January 2023
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The government’s top law officials are reviewing a jail sentence handed to a man who forced a woman to have sex with him to save the life of a man with whom she was on a first date.’
The Guardian, 26th January 20223
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Ministers should resist calls to end the political role of government law officers, a centre-right thinktank argues today in the run-up to publication of an influential parliamentary report. In a paper “Between Law and Politics: The Future of the Law Officers in England & Wales”, published by Policy Exchange, Dr Conor Casey of the University of Liverpool School of Law argues that the current configuration of the attorney general and solicitor general as law officers with legal and political dimensions works well. Moving to an alternative model of, for example, law officers without any political involvement is not worth it and has potential serious downsides, Casey states.’
Law Society's Gazette, 17th January 2023
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has concluded in the Attorney General’s referral of the jury acquittal of the Colston 4 that ECHR rights were not engaged where damage to property was criminal. Rosalind English analyses the ruling.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th October 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Four defendants were acquitted by a jury in Bristol Crown Court following their trial for allegations of criminal damage on 7 June 2020 to a statue of the English merchant Edward Colston (1636-1721). The story has been widely covered elsewhere so I will limit this post to a discussion of the reference itself.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 4th October 2022
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Attorney General Suella Braverman spoke at Policy Exchange about equalities and human rights.’
Attorney General’s Office, 10th August 2022
Source: www.gov.uk/ago
‘Ministers should “take radical action” to counter the influence of European human rights rules to curb a burgeoning industry of highly paid equalities officers touting bogus grievances, Suella Braverman, the UK government’s chief law officer, has argued.’
The Guardian, 10th August 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
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