New police powers to tackle slow-walking protests – BBC News
‘Police in England and Wales are to be given new powers to tackle “disruptive” slow walking used by protesters to block roads.’
BBC News, 28th April 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: freedom of expression
Covid and Free Speech in the High Court – UK Human Rights Blog
‘On 5 April 2023 the High Court handed down judgment in Adil v General Medical Council [2023] EWHC 797 (Admin). The case examined the extent to which a professional regulator can interfere with the right to freedom of expression of an individual subject to its regulation, as well as the circumstances in which the Court should accept challenges to decisions made by regulators in the performance of their duties. It is the first case decided by the High Court concerning anti-vaccination statements made by a doctor in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the actions of the General Medical Council (“GMC”) in response.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th April 2023
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Law firm unfairly dismissed “homophobic” secretary – Legal Futures
‘A law firm unfairly dismissed a legal secretary who made homophobic comments because of how it ran the disciplinary process, an employment tribunal has ruled.’
Legal Futures, 23rd March 2023
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Hostile, authoritarian’ UK downgraded in civic freedoms index – The Guardian
‘The UK has been downgraded in an annual global index of civic freedoms as a result of the government’s “increasingly authoritarian” drive to impose restrictive and punitive laws on public protests.’
The Guardian, 16th March 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
SLAPPs – defamation, privacy, public participation and reform – Mills & Reeve
‘SLAPPs – what are they? If you’ve asked yourself that question, it’s most likely a good thing. In this article we take a look at the impact of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which present an important issue within society, politics and the legal profession, particularly in a libel and privacy context.’
Mills & Reeve, 14th March 2023
Source: www.mills-reeve.com
School chaplaincy, sermons on sexuality – and employment law: Randall – Law & Religion UK
‘Trent College is a co-educational, independent day and boarding school. It is an Anglican foundation and a registered charity [36]. Its articles of association provide that the “Objects for which the company is established are: The advancement of education of boys and girls in England, Wales or elsewhere in accordance with the Protestant and Evangelical principles of the Church of England”. The Revd Dr Bernard Randall, an Anglican priest, was employed as the College’s Chaplain. In May 2019, he delivered two sermons to the pupils about “competing ideologies” which led to his summary dismissal on 30 August 2019. On appeal, he was reinstated, subject to compliance with various management instructions. He was subsequently dismissed by reason of redundancy on 10 November 2020.’
Law & Religion UK, 7th March 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
Leeds preacher’s sentence for trans woman’s harassment quashed – BBC News
‘A Christian preacher who was found guilty of harassing a transgender woman by calling her a “man” and “gentleman” has had his conviction quashed.’
BBC News, 9th March 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Court restrictions on climate protesters ‘deeply concerning’, say leading lawyers – The Guardian
‘Restrictions placed on non-violent climate protesters who have been tried in criminal courts were part of a “deeply concerning” “pincer movement” narrowing their rights to free expression, leading lawyers have told the Guardian.’
The Guardian, 8th March 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Maths teacher accused of misgendering pupil on religious grounds – The Guardian
‘A maths teacher “failed to separate the teacher from the preacher” when he allegedly misgendered a transgender pupil repeatedly and inappropriately shared his religious beliefs in the classroom, a misconduct panel heard.’
The Guardian, 27th February 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Public Order Bill: Peers defeat plans to curb protest disruption – BBC News
‘The House of Lords has overturned plans to clamp down on protest marches that cause too much disruption.’
BBC News, 7th February 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
New plans to widen police powers for disruptive protests – BBC News
‘Police could be allowed to shut down protests before they cause serious disruption, under new government plans.’
BBC News, 15th January 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Senior media figures call for law to stop oligarchs silencing UK journalists – The Guardian
‘A coalition of senior journalists and editors from across the political spectrum is calling on the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, to back a proposed law to tackle the global super-rich’s use of “abusive legal tactics to shut down investigations”.’
The Guardian, 29th November 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
Salting the Bird’s Tail? The Online Safety Bill -v- Musk’s Twitter – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The Online Safety Bill approaches free speech from a different context. If “democratic functioning” covers one side of the “freedom of speech coin”, then the other-side is illustrated by the tragic death of Molly Russell. Molly was a teenager who died of self-harm following the negative effects of online content, a recent investigation has concluded. This is the perspective from which the Online Safety Bill seeks to impose obligations on social media sites to protect users from harmful content.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 28th November 2022
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Just Stop Oil: High Court grants injunction to prevent M25 protests Published 23 hours ago – BBC News
‘A High Court injunction has been granted to prevent Just Stop Oil protesters disrupting the M25.’
BBC News, 6th November 2022
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
The latest injunction against HS2 protestors bans nearly everyone anywhere on 170 mile route – UK Human Rights Blog
‘High Speed Two (HS2) Limited and the Secretary of State for Transport v Four Categories of Persons Unknown and Ross Monaghan and 58 other Named Defendants [2022] EWHC 2360 (KB). This case involved the application, and grant, of an interim injunction in the “unknown” as well as “known” protester context by Knowles J in the Birmingham District Registry.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 7th November 2022
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Damage to statues and ECHR rights – Local Government Lawyer
‘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
Court of Appeal concludes in AG referral of jury acquittal of Colston 4 that ECHR rights were not engaged where damage to property was criminal – UK Human Rights Blog
‘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
Suella Braverman to consider giving anonymity to suspected criminals – The Guardian
‘The home secretary will examine the possibility of giving anonymity to suspected criminals after concern over the identification and treatment of high-profile people wrongly accused of sexual abuse.’
The Guardian, 3rd October 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
Do Marginalised People Get The Same Level Of Free Speech As Others? – Each Other
‘Article 10 and Article 11 of the Human Rights Act (HRA) state that everyone has the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. However, this does not always hold true for marginalised groups.’
Each Other, 21st September 2022
Source: eachother.org.uk
