ICO fine for British Airways lands at £20m – Panopticon

Posted October 19th, 2020 in airlines, coronavirus, data protection, fines, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘Ever since the Information Commissioner issued British Airways with a notice proposing to impose a massive fine of £183.39m for a data breach incident in 2018, we have all be waiting with bated breath to see how that process would conclude. A fine at that level would have been the largest ever issued by a data protection regulator in Europe, and would have dwarfed the eye-watering €50m proposed by the French data protection authority CNIL in respect of Google’s advertisement personalisation practices, affecting millions of French citizens. The prospect of BA, a corporate victim of a criminal cyber-attack affecting around 400,000 people’s (mostly payment-card) data, being subject to fine in excess of 4x as large certainly grabbed the headlines.’

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Panopticon, 19th October 2020

Source: panopticonblog.com

Extending custody time limit will hit BAME people hardest, MoJ told – The Guardian

‘Extending the amount of time unconvicted defendants can await trial in prison will have a disproportionate impact on people who are black, Asian or from other ethnic minorities, according to official advice handed to ministers.’

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The Guardian, 16th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Remote hearings “can bring horror into your home”, says judge – Legal Futures

Posted October 19th, 2020 in coronavirus, families, family courts, judges, news, remote hearings by sally

‘A particularly unwelcome issue for judges hearing cases remotely is that some of the most disturbing elements of serious family cases are being heard at home, a High Court judge reported last week.’

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Legal Futures, 19th October 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

How smart devices are exploited for domestic abuse – BBC News

‘The number of domestic abuse cases has increased dramatically since the UK’s Covid lockdown – and tech has played a role.’

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BBC News, 18th October 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Family of NHS consultant stricken by Covid face removal from UK – The Guardian

‘The family of an NHS consultant who has treated many patients during the coronavirus pandemic, and who is now critically ill with Covid himself, are facing removal from the UK.’

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The Guardian, 15th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Care watchdog to review use of DNACPR during pandemic – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 15th, 2020 in care homes, consent, coronavirus, elderly, medical treatment, news by tracey

‘The Care Quality Commission is to review how Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions were used during the coronavirus pandemic.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th October 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Remote hearing success means no backlog in some family courts – Legal Futures

Posted October 15th, 2020 in coronavirus, delay, family courts, news, remote hearings by tracey

‘The family court system has adapted so well to remote working that some courts do not have a backlog of cases, the president of the Family Division said yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 15th October 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Do Our Human Rights Protect Black Britons Equally? – Each Other

Posted October 14th, 2020 in coronavirus, equality, human rights, news, race discrimination, racism by sally

‘Human rights are supposed to apply to all of us equally – yet three quarters of Black people in Britain feel theirs are less protected than their white counterparts. Racism lies at the root of this inequality, writes Nadine Batchelor-Hunt.’

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Each Other, 13th October 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

David Greene: Condemning lawyers for doing their jobs is inherently dangerous – The Guardian

‘The new president of the Law Society on why it’s crucial to defend the rule of law in these febrile times.’

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The Guardian, 14th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Police report rise in Covid rule breaches in north of England – The Guardian

Posted October 13th, 2020 in coronavirus, news, penalties, police, regulations, statistics by sally

‘Reports of Covid-19 restrictions breaches have increased in parts of the north of England in the run-up to stricter local lockdowns being announced, with some councillors warning about “vexatious” false claims of neighbours breaking the rules.’

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The Guardian, 12th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Belly Mujinga: Calls for inquest into alleged ‘virus cough attack’ death – BBC News

Posted October 12th, 2020 in assault, bereavement, coronavirus, families, inquests, news, police, transport by sally

‘There are calls for an inquest into the death of transport worker Belly Mujinga – who died after reportedly being coughed and spat on by a passenger who said he had the virus.’

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BBC News, 12th October 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government to pay £2m to settle coronavirus testing case – BBC News

Posted October 8th, 2020 in competition, computer programs, contracting out, coronavirus, news by tracey

‘The UK has agreed to settle a lawsuit over how it selected an IT contract for coronavirus testing at its Lighthouse labs.’

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BBC News, 8th October 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Inheritance delays causing financial hardship for the bereaved – The Independent

Posted October 7th, 2020 in bereavement, coronavirus, delay, executors, families, news, probate, wills by tracey

‘With probate applications now taking three times longer to approve, more than 8,000 estates remain unclaimed.’

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The Independent, 6th October 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Insurers’ decision to appeal Covid insurance test case “disgraceful” – Litigation Futures

Posted October 6th, 2020 in coronavirus, financial regulation, insurance, law firms, news by tracey

‘A law firm at the forefront of the business interruption insurance test case has described insurers’ decision to appeal the High Court ruling as “disgraceful”.’

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Litigation Futures, 5th October 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

G-A-Y nightclub owner launches legal action against government over 10pm curfew – The Independent

Posted October 6th, 2020 in clubs, coronavirus, health & safety, judicial review, news, regulations by tracey

‘”Enough is enough” says Jeremy Joseph as he launches judicial review into policy that threatens future of pubs, clubs and restaurants.’

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The Independent, 5th October 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK court overturns ruling on $1.8bn of Venezuelan gold – The Guardian

‘A battle for the control of more than $1.8bn worth of Venezuelan gold stored at the Bank of England has swung in favour of the government of Nicolás Maduro after an appeals court in London overturned an earlier high court ruling concerning whom the UK recognised as Venezuela’s president.’

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The Guardian, 5th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Government paying junior barristers less than national minimum wage – The Bar Council

‘Some barristers are being paid the equivalent of £6.25 per hour by the government, less than the National Minimum Wage, despite their central role in clearing the 500,000-plus backlog of cases in the criminal courts, says the Bar Council in its Spending Review submission to the Treasury.’

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The Bar Council, 1st October 2020

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Vos: ‘lawyers face steep learning curve on tech’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘All lawyers will need to become familiar with the concepts and workings of distributed ledger technology, smart legal contracts and cryptoassets, according to the next master of the rolls. In a foreword to a landmark report on the regulation of blockchain technology, Sir Geoffrey Vos says that the pandemic “has only emphasised our need to understand the ways in which technology is affecting our professional lives. Lawyers face a steep learning curve.” ’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th October 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lord Sumption: justice faces digital trade-off – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The court system faces a trade-off between the quality of justice and the cost of delivering it, former Supreme Court justice Lord Sumption has said in a biting assessment of virtual hearings. Speaking at the Commercial Litigators’ Forum, Lord Sumption (Jonathan Sumption QC) said if quality of justice was the only concern “we would go back to ordinary oral hearings.” ‘

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th October 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Coronavirus: Students fined £200 over party at university halls – The Independent

‘Two students have been fined £200 each following an illegal party in a university’s halls of residence, West Midlands Police has said.’

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The Independent, 3rd October 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk