Category: news

‘In Smithstone, the Court of Appeal addressed a key point of principle and uncertainty concerning cost consequences for liability-only Part 36 offers and marked a significant development for practitioners. The Court confirmed that Part 36 costs consequences can indeed be triggered by liability-only Part 36 offers, overturning and clarifying the position outlined in Mundy v TUI UK Ltd [2023] EWHC 385 (Ch). This decision is likely to prompt a rise in the use of such offers.’

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1 QMLR.2nd February 2026

Source: 1corqmlr.com

‘A driver who killed a man and mowed down four others in a drink-fuelled rampage in London’s West End in the early hours of Christmas Day 2024 has been jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 37 years.’

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BBC News, 30th January 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Join barrister Adam Pipe for an hour-long webinar for DG Legal reviewing developments in UK immigration law during 2025, covering Immigration Rules changes, Home Office policy papers, key case law, and practical implications for advising clients and litigation practice.’

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EIN Blog, 30th January 2026

Source: www.ein.org.uk

‘A criticism often levelled at the law surrounding modern parenthood is that it has failed to keep pace with societal and technological change. The law is failing to remain fit for purpose for modern families. This can lead to practitioners having to find solutions to problems created by unforeseen gaps in the law, effectively making the law with each new case. For those who turn to the law to resolve a deeply personal issue, it is a distressing and uncertain landscape.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 30th January 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘2026 is shaping up to be the most consequential year for UK data protection enforcement since the introduction of the EU/UK GDPR regime. With record fines issued in late 2025, a new enforcement playbook on the horizon, and shifting legislative and regulatory expectations, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) is signalling a marked transformation in how it supervises and sanctions organisations.’

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Kingsley Napley Corporate and Commercial Law Blog, 28th January 2026

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘Sex Matters is a campaigning organisation which was set up in 2021 and which, controversially, obtained charitable status in 2024. Its stated objectives are to “promote human rights where they relate to sex”, “advance education about sex and the law” and to “promote the sound administration of the law in relation to sex and equality in the law”. However, its recent campaigns have focused almost exclusively against the inclusion of trans women in single sex spaces.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 29th January 2026

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘Four daughters have successfully challenged their “domineering” aunt in a court battle over the £1 million estate of their eccentric father, a man described as a “son of the Forest”.’

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The Independent, 30th January 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Family dynamics are complex at the best of times. When one family member is unwell, stress and worry can quickly lead to friction and mistrust among siblings and parents alike.’

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Kingsley Napley Family Law Blog, 29th January 2026

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘It would be “a disaster for disabled people” if police stop recording and investigating lower-level incidents of abuse that often lead to more serious hate crimes, according to researchers and campaigners.’

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The Guardian, 29th January 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A group of media lawyers, including newspaper general counsel and KCs, have put their names to an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling for stronger anti-SLAPP provisions.’

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Legal Futures, 30th January 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘A significant decision has been made by Mr Justice Poole in the High Court, allowing a journalist access to a number of psychological reports that were commissioned in family proceedings. Although when a Transparency Order (TO) is made under the Reporting Provisions a journalist or legal blogger can be given copies of certain court documents, this list doesn’t include expert witness reports or Cafcass reports. A second important feature of this judgment is that the journalist successfully applied for access to some documents in cases where she hadn’t been to court to get a TO.’

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Transparency Project, 29th January 2026

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

‘A legal challenge brought by a charity over transgender people’s access to single-sex facilities at swimming ponds in Hampstead Heath has failed at the high court.’

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The Guardian, 29th January 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The UK government’s decision to go ahead with completely lifting the cap on unfair dismissal compensation from the start of next year will require companies to rethink their dismissal strategies, an expert has warned.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th January 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘Some of the information provided to lawyers over the years about the conduct of litigation was not clear enough, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has concluded.’

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Legal Futures, 29th January 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Five more former bankers convicted of rigging interest rates will be given a fresh chance to clear their names, after the supreme court overturned a decade-old ruling against the trader Tom Hayes last year.’

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The Guardian, 29th January 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Brook House near Gatwick airport was the subject of an independent inquiry after G4S guards were filmed abusing detainees in 2017. Now, The Independent has obtained stark written accounts from officers at the site that reveal chaotic conditions in which restraint and force are being used against vulnerable migrants – as campaigners warn of ‘widespread failures’. Home affairs correspondent Holly Bancroft reports.’

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The Independent, 28th January 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘As temperatures dropped and trees went up in the days before Christmas, judgment was handed down in the case of Ebanks-Blake v Calder. Mrs Justice Lambert’s decision in the Claimant’s favour, circulated to parties on 18 December 2025, serves as a useful reminder of three important lessons for clinical negligence cases.’

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1 QMLR, 28th January 2026

Source: 1corqmlr.com

‘The UK government’s new “earned settlement” proposals reveal a stark divide in how people can secure their right to live permanently in the UK. For EU, EEA nationals and Swiss nationals and their families who were living in the UK before Brexit, the EU Settlement Scheme increasingly seems a beacon of fairness. For everyone else, the future looks far less certain—and much harder.’

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Kingsley Napley Immigration Law Blog, 28th January 2026

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘A former singer for Spandau Ballet has been found guilty of rape and attempted rape.’

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BBC News, 28th January 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Record numbers of offenders are being recalled to prison in England and Wales with union officials claiming that some are deliberately breaking the terms of their probation in order to deal drugs in prison.’

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The Guardian, 29th January 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com