‘Too many victims are waiting years for justice as the system operates at “unacceptable levels” following Covid restrictions, a report has found. A joint probe by the inspectorates for police, prosecutors, prisons and probation said the government had failed to fully mitigate risks it identified last year.’
The Independent, 17th May 2022
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The chair of the UK Covid-19 public inquiry has urged the prime minister to significantly widen its scope to better examine the pandemic’s unequal impact on minority ethnic people, on children and on mental health.’
The Guardian, 12th May 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The High Court (Bean LJ and Garnham J) held in R (Gardner) v Secretary of State for Health [2022] EWHC 967 (Admin) that the Government’s March 2020 Discharge Policy and the April 2020 Admissions Guidance were unlawful to the extent that the policy set out in each document was irrational in failing to advise that where an asymptomatic patient (other than one who had tested negative) was admitted to a care home, he or she should, so far as practicable, be kept apart from other residents for 14 days.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd May 2022
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The Government has said it will not be appealing against a High Court ruling which stated its care home discharge policies were unlawful.’
The Independent, 4th May 2022
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A man has been found guilty of threatening a Labour MP after he held a makeshift gallows with a noose outside parliament and said: “This is what we do to traitors.”’
The Guardian, 3rd May 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A gym boss who is among 20 people who overturned a prosecution for a gym-related Covid breach said the case against him was a waste of time.’
BBC News, 3rd May 2022
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘This time of year brings bad memories for families of care home residents who died in Covid’s first wave when the virus swept, mostly unchecked, through nursing homes.’
The Guardian, 27th April 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The current Prime Minister’s long running battle with the Seven Principles of Public Life continues to gather pace. Boris Johnson’s actions relating to the pandemic “partygate” scandal have arguably violated each of the principles established by the Nolan Committee in 1995: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. The Prime Minister’s full house of ethical violations concerning his attendance and subsequent denials of social gatherings held in Downing Street, contrary to lockdown restrictions, have also yielded Fixed Penalty Notices from the police for him, his Chancellor, his wife, and other government officials, with the prospect of more to follow. Yet the Prime Minister remains committed to staying in post, and has refused to resign.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th April 2022
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘An NHS Trust has conceded, following a judicial review challenge, that its decision to close a hospital over staffing issues partly attributed to pandemic pressures was unlawful.’
Local Government Lawyer, 25th April 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Recent cases involving serious sexual offences have taken the longest time on record to go through Crown Courts in England and Wales, the BBC has found.’
BBC News, 25th April 2022
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The prisons watchdog has warned of the “long-term price” of restricting offenders’ time out of cells, as reports show many are living in conditions equal to solitary confinement.’
The Independent, 20th April 2022
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The coronavirus pandemic has seen unprecedented interference by governments in many aspects of our working lives. In terms of labour law, some of the changes made by the UK government during the pandemic have been deregulatory and served to erode protection for workers (for example, through increasing flexibility in working time for key workers: Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020. For the most part though, these changes have increased worker protection and provided significant support for UK businesses and employees. The two furlough schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the accompanying Self-Employment Income Support Scheme have been widely judged as pandemic success stories, with the CJRS supporting 11.6 million people and playing a clear role in limiting job losses. Likewise, changes to the sick pay system during the pandemic have been positive, serving to increase access to the scheme and reduce the administrative burden on both employees and their employers.’
UK Labour Law, 12th April 2022
Source: uklabourlawblog.com
‘No-one will be prosecuted over the leaking of CCTV footage that showed former health secretary Matt Hancock kissing his aide while coronavirus social distancing guidelines were in place.’
The Independent, 13th April 2022
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Three-quarters of magistrates do not want remote links to be used as extensively as they were during the pandemic, according to landmark research on their experiences in the criminal courts. After canvassing the views of 865 magistrates, a report published by the Magistrates Association, assisted by legal charity Transform Justice, concludes that audio and video links negatively impact communication and effective participation, particularly for vulnerable court users.’
Law Society's Gazette, 12th April 2022
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Metropolitan police has been refused permission for a “hopeless” appeal against a high court ruling that found the force breached the rights of organisers of a vigil for Sarah Everard in south London last year.’
The Guardian, 11th April 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Two children sought permission to judicially review various decisions made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care relating to provision of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines to children. To pursue their claim, they sought disclosure of various statistics from the Office for National Statistics (the ONS). As the ONS was not a party to proceedings, they made an application under CPR 31.17 for disclosure. Mr Justice Swift dismissed that application on the basis that the information sought was not necessary for the fair determination of the questions of law raised by the pleaded case.’
Henderson Chambers, 31st March 2022
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
‘The British Medical Association (BMA) has accused solicitors of bullying GPs by threatening legal action if the doctor does not provide a Covid vaccination exemption for their client.’
Legal Futures, 29th March 2022
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
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