Category: public interest

Critics of Lord Janner decision misunderstand justice system – The Guardian

Posted April 23rd, 2015 in criminal justice, Crown Prosecution Service, inquiries, mental health, news, police, prosecutions, public interest by sally

‘The creation of the Crown Prosecution Service nearly 30 years ago was pretty traumatic for the police. I remember it well and wrote a book about it at the time. Overnight, detectives lost the power to decide what charges should be brought against people they had arrested. Instead, the director of public prosecutions — whose remit had been confined to cases of “importance or difficulty” for the previous 100 years — took responsibility in 1986 for most public prosecutions across England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 22nd April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Journalists should not always be prosecuted for paying public officials, says former CPS head – The Indpendent

Posted April 20th, 2015 in appeals, bribery, codes of practice, confidentiality, corruption, Crown Prosecution Service, evidence, freedom of expression, media, misfeasance in public office, news, police, prosecutions, public interest, witnesses by sally

‘The former head of the Crown Prosecution Service has said it can be “appropriate” for journalists to pay officials for information and that Operation Elveden had overlooked the public interest.’

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The Independent, 18th April 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Crown Prosecution Service re-review of Operation Elveden – CPS News Brief

Posted April 20th, 2015 in appeals, bribery, codes of practice, corruption, Crown Prosecution Service, freedom of expression, inquiries, media, misfeasance in public office, news, police, prosecutions, public interest by sally

‘Operation Elveden is a Metropolitan Police Service investigation that revealed the payments made to corrupt public officials by journalists for information. It followed two parliamentary committees and the Leveson Inquiry which revealed serious questions over the techniques used by some which may have amounted to systematic and flagrant breaches of the law. The range and circumstance of this activity was of a scale not previously encountered by police or CPS.’

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CPS News Brief, 17th April 2015

Source: http://blog.cps.gov.uk

Three years, £20 million, one conviction: Operation Elveden on brink of collapse – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 20th, 2015 in appeals, bribery, corruption, Crown Prosecution Service, freedom of expression, media, misfeasance in public office, news, police, prosecutions, public interest by sally

‘Operation Elveden, the long running investigation into allegations of corruption by tabloid journalists, lies in tatters after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was forced to scrap most of the outstanding cases. ‘

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Daily Telegraph, 17th April 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

TV ‘exposure’ of Scientology halted by UK libel law split – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2015 in charities, defamation, freedom of expression, harassment, jurisdiction, media, news, Northern Ireland, public interest, tax avoidance by sally

‘Plans to broadcast HBO’s Church of Scientology exposé, Going Clear, have been shelved by Sky Atlantic in a virtual repeat of events two years ago, when UK publishers abandoned publication of the book on which the hard-hitting new TV documentary is based.’

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The Guardian, 18th April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Law firms exploiting EU ‘right to be forgotten’ ruling to help individuals remove awkward newspaper articles from Google – The Independent

Posted April 20th, 2015 in EC law, freedom of information, internet, law firms, media, news, public interest by sally

‘Ambulance-chasing law firms are using the European Court’s ruling on the “right to be forgotten” to drum up business, leading to a rise in the number of newspaper articles being deleted from Google search results.’

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The Independent, 17th April 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Whistleblowing ‘public interest’ test can cover internal matters in some circumstances, says UK’s EAT – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 14th, 2015 in appeals, disclosure, employment tribunals, news, public interest, whistleblowers by sally

‘Matters covered by someone who ‘blows the whistle’ on suspected bad practices at their employer need not necessarily be “of interest to the public” to benefit from stricter rules governing whistleblower protection, the UK’s Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th April 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Why we should see Andrew Lansley’s diary in the run up to 2011 NHS reforms – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted April 14th, 2015 in data protection, disclosure, documents, freedom of information, health, ministers' powers and duties, news, public interest, tribunals by sally

‘Department of Health v. Information Commissioner et al [2015] UKUT 159, 30 March 2015, Charles J read judgment Simon Lewis requested that the Department of Health supply him with copies of the ministerial diary of Andrew Lansley from May 2010 until April 2011, via a Freedom of Information request. Mr Lewis’s interest in all this is not revealed in the judgment, but I dare say included seeing whether the Minister was being lobbied by private companies eager to muscle in on the NHS in this critical period. But such is the nature of FOIA litigation that it does not really look at the motive of the requester – and this case does not tell us what the diary showed. Indeed by the time of this appeal, Lewis was untraceable, and the burden of the argument in favour of disclosure was taken up by the Information Commissioner.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 10th April 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Untangling the spider’s web: Evans at the Supreme Court – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted April 1st, 2015 in appeals, disclosure, documents, enforcement notices, freedom of information, government departments, media, news, public interest, royal family, Supreme Court by sally

‘On Friday, 27th March, the Supreme Court handed down a decision which will be as much of interest to public lawyers as information rights practitioners alike. Evans, a journalist for the Guardian newspaper utilised the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 to seek the disclosure of letters sent by Prince Charles to seven government departments between September 2004 and March 2005. The departments refused to disclose the letters (so-called “black spider” memos on account of the Prince’s handwriting) on the basis that they were exempt from doing so. In their view the letters represented private correspondence which effectively allowed the Prince to prepare for “kingship.” Evans subsequently complained to the Information Commissioner who upheld the refusal before appealing to the Information Tribunal. The Tribunal held that many of the letters should be disclosed as they constituted “advocacy correspondence.”’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 31st March 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Operation Elveden: Court quashes reporter’s conviction – BBC News

Posted March 30th, 2015 in appeals, bribery, corruption, juries, media, news, photography, prison officers, public interest, royal family, sentencing by sally

‘An ex-News of the World reporter who was found guilty of paying a prison officer for information has had their conviction quashed.’

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BBC News, 27th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

McCann ‘Twitter troll’ Brenda Leyland ‘killed herself’ – BBC News

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in inquests, internet, media, news, public interest, suicide by sally

‘A woman who “trolled” Madeleine McCann’s family on Twitter killed herself days after she was challenged by reporters, an inquest concluded.’

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BBC News, 20th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Jury were right to clear Sun quartet – they shouldn’t have been on trial – The Guardian

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in codes of practice, conspiracy, Crown Prosecution Service, interception, media, misfeasance in public office, news, prosecutions, public interest by sally

‘Yet another jury has cleared more Sun journalists who were charged with offences related to the paying of public officials.’

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The Guardian, 20th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MoD ‘mole’ Bettina Jordan-Barber jailed over Sun leaks – The Guardian

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in Afghanistan, armed forces, breach of trust, conspiracy, Crown Prosecution Service, disciplinary procedures, disclosure, government departments, Iraq, media, misfeasance in public office, news, privacy, proceeds of crime, public interest, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

‘A “mole” at the Ministry of Defence who made £100,000 from leaking stories to the Sun has been jailed for 12 months, it can now be reported after verdicts were delivered in a related trial.’

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The Guardian, 20th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

CPS decision to stop private prosecutions of doctors charged with abortion offences – CPS News Brief

Posted March 17th, 2015 in abortion, Crown Prosecution Service, doctors, news, private prosecutions, prosecutions, public interest by sally

‘In February 2012 Drs Sivaraman and Rajmohan were the subject of an undercover operation organised by The Daily Telegraph at various abortion clinics in England. The evidence obtained was passed to the police and, after an investigation, considered by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). It was concluded that in each case there was sufficient evidence of an abortion offence, although this was a finely balanced decision, but that it was not in the public interest to prosecute. On 5 September 2013 and, in more detail, on 7 October 2013 the CPS issued public statements explaining the decision making in these cases.’

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CPS News Brief, 13th March 2015

Source: http://blog.cps.gov.uk

‘Door wide open’ to gender abortion as CPS blocks prosecution of doctors, campaigners claim – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 16th, 2015 in abortion, bills, Crown Prosecution Service, doctors, gender, news, private prosecutions, prosecutions, public interest by sally

‘Prosecutors halt case against doctors filmed in Telegraph investigation over ‘public interest’ considerations.’

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Daily Telegraph, 13th March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (Ingenious Media Holdings Ltd) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners – WLR Daily

Posted March 10th, 2015 in appeals, confidentiality, disclosure, HM Revenue & Customs, law reports, media, public interest, tax avoidance by sally

Regina (Ingenious Media Holdings Ltd) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners: [2015] EWCA Civ 173; [2015] WLR (D) 104

‘In the particular circumstances of the case limited disclosures made by a Revenue and Customs official in an “off the record” briefing with journalists concerning tax avoidance schemes had been made “for the purposes” of a function of the Revenue and Customs, within section 18(2)(a)(i). Therefore there had been no breach of article 18(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, which required the commissioners to maintain confidentiality of information about a taxpayer’s affairs.’

WLR Daily, 4th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Prison officer Mark Blake ‘justified’ leaks to The Sun – BBC News

Posted February 26th, 2015 in corruption, detention, immigration, media, misfeasance in public office, news, prison officers, public interest by sally

‘An officer at a Serco-run immigration centre justified leaking stories to The Sun by claiming the firm turned a blind eye to corruption, a court has heard.’

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BBC News, 25th February 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court dismisses landowners’ challenge to Tottenham Hotspur FC stadium CPO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 24th, 2015 in compulsory purchase, local government, news, planning, public interest, sport by sally

‘The High Court has dismissed a challenge to the land acquisition order that will allow Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (THFC) to complete the redevelopment of the site of its north London stadium, according to reports.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd February 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Southwark gatekeeping: All of the wrong – NearlyLegal

Posted February 23rd, 2015 in homelessness, housing, judicial review, local government, news, public interest by sally

‘Courtesy of Hansen Palomares Solicitors comes news of this settled Judicial Review of LB Southwark’s gatekeeping practices on homeless applications. It appears, to put it mildly, that Southwark have had a range of what should have been obviously unlawful policies on homeless applications, and even put them into leaflets and their website.’

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NearlyLegal, 22nd February 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

HSBC should face UK criminal charges, says former public prosecutor – The Guardian

Posted February 23rd, 2015 in banking, conspiracy, foreign jurisdictions, fraud, HM Revenue & Customs, international law, news, ombudsmen, prosecutions, public interest, subsidiary companies, tax evasion by sally

‘HSBC’s Swiss arm is potentially open to a range of criminal charges in Britain because there is “credible evidence” that it has had a role in enabling tax evasion, according to a former director of public prosecutions.’

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The Guardian, 22nd February 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk