Category: news

‘The ombudsman who handled the aftermath of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire has been picked to chair the legal profession’s complaints-handler as it staggers under the weight of new business. The Legal Services Board today announced Richard Blakeway as its preferred candidate to chair the Office for Legal Complaints, which oversees the legal ombudsman for England and Wales.’

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Law Society Gazette, 18th February 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The role of conduct in financial remedy proceedings is firmly back in the spotlight following two recent decisions of Cusworth J published in 2026. This article looks at the legal framework on personal conduct, reviews Cusworth J’s decisions, and highlights key practical considerations for family lawyers.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 17th February 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

‘The deprivation of liberty is the most significant power the state can exercise. Drawing on frontline experience, Chris Henley KC explains why replacing trial by jury with judge-only trials risks undermining justice.’

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Counsel, 16th February 2026

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘This article is a necessary update to my previous piece on the rise and rise of fake cases, also known as AI hallucinations (Counsel September 2025). Interestingly, even the terminology is contested. The very label we use for this phenomenon has attracted debate, with many questioning whether it properly reflects what is happening when AI systems generate incorrect legal material.’

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Counsel, 16th February 2026

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘”Kindness at the Bar”, a project analysing patterns of kindness among barristers, the influence of rules of conduct and impact of poor working conditions, launched in 2022. Drawing on focus‑group responses from barristers, the initial report by Professor Robin Banerjee and researchers at the University of Sussex explored experiences of kindness and the impact on working lives. It was an excellent first step, but it was clear that more could be achieved with a larger number of groups and a wider scope – not only across the Bar but also encompassing higher court advocates and the judiciary.’

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Counsel, 18th February 2026

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘Numbers have escalated since University College London (UCL) confirmed last week it had reached a deal with 6,500 former students who launched legal action, claiming they did not receive the education they paid for during the Covid pandemic.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The NHS will have to spend more money settling lawsuits involving negligence during childbirth after a supreme court ruling that lawyers said puts right a “historic injustice”.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The Courts are awash with litigation concerning claims being issued out of time, the consequences of which often form the basis for negligence claims.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 17th February 2026

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

‘On 13 February 2026, the Divisional Court (Dame Victoria Sharp PKBD, Swift and Steyn JJ) upheld the judicial review brought against the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000: R (Ammori) v Home Secretary [2026] EWHC 292 (Admin).The Court dismissed two grounds: failing to give Palestine Action the opportunity to make representations (ground 8), and failing to have regard to relevant considerations (ground 5). The Court upheld two grounds: that the decision was in breach of the Home Secretary’s policy (ground 6), and that it amounted to an unjustified interference with Arts 10 and 11 ECHR (ground 2).’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th February 2026

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

‘A police officer who said he was made to feel like a “walking disease” at work after being diagnosed with HIV has been awarded more than £40,000 in compensation.’

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BBC News, 17th February 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Politicians and experts have thrown their weight behind calls for suicides to be investigated as potential homicides in cases where a person who takes their own life has been affected by domestic abuse.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Damning prison projections uncovered by The Independent reveal the government’s action plan to tackle the scandal of indefinite jail terms will leave hundreds of prisoners to rot.’

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The Independent, 17th February 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘In the Ammori case, the High Court held that the Home Secretary’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 was unlawful. But a quashing order has not been issued and the government now plans to appeal. In those circumstances, are media reports correct to say that, for the time being, Palestine Action is ‘still proscribed’? And where does this leave protestors currently facing prosecution for expressing support for the organisation?’

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Public Law for Everyone, 17th February 2026

Source: publiclawforeveryone.com

‘Freemasons have failed in their attempt to bring a legal challenge against Britain’s biggest police force over its decision to compel staff to declare whether they are or have been members.’

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The Guardian, 17th February 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Child sex abuse is becoming increasingly complex to police and officers are arresting an average of 1,000 potential offenders each month, the National Crime Agency (NCA) says.’

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BBC News, 18th February 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Four Chagos Islanders have landed on one of the archipelago’s atolls to establish what they say will be a permanent settlement, in an attempt to complicate a British plan to transfer the territory to Mauritius.’

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The Guardian, 17th February 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘On 26 January 2026, we posted Church proposes significant increase in fees for burial which reviewed Schedule 1 of the draft Order, GS2434. A new Parochial Fees Order is required to set the fees for 2027 and beyond (the maximum period permitted under the Ecclesiastical Fees Measure 1986 (the 1986 Measure) is five years).’

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Law & Religion UK, 18th February 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘If you are advising residential tenants, perhaps with security of tenure under the Rent Act 1977 (‘RA 1977’) or the Housing Act 1988, then you will be able to say with confidence whether they have the protection of the various service charge provisions in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (‘LTA 1985’). But what of someone who has a tenancy of a pub or a shop with a flat above: a business tenant of mixed-use premises who has no security under the aforementioned acts but who may well (subject to the contracting out procedure) have the protection of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (‘the LTA 1954′)? Do they, like their purely residential neighbours, have rights which would enable them to – for example – challenge the reasonableness of their service charges?’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 17th February 2026

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

‘A Transport for London (TfL) ad featuring a black teenage boy verbally harassing a white girl has been banned for “perpetuating the negative racial stereotype about black men as perpetrators of threatening behaviour”.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Dozens of universities are facing legal action from more than 170,000 students seeking compensation after their studies were moved online during Covid-19.’

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The Guardian, 16th February 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com