Ex-Met officer guilty of sending racist message – BBC News
‘A former Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty of sending an offensive racist message following a BBC Newsnight investigation.’
BBC News, 7th November 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: telecommunications
Court rejects ‘fishing expedition’ for firm’s call recording – Law Society’s Gazette
‘A costs judge has refused a former client’s plea for a recording of the call where they signed up to instruct a law firm. In Turner v Coupland Cavendish, Costs Judge Rowley said the call recording remained the solicitors’ property rather than the client’s and did not need to be disclosed.’
Law Society's Gazette, 6th November 2023
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Crime ‘kingpins’ among 400 jailed after Met Police crack ‘secure’ messaging app – The Independent
‘More than 400 criminals, including senior “kingpins” in organised crime, have been sent to prison in a Metropolitan Police operation targeting the EncroChat encrypted messaging platform.’
The Independent, 9th October 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Families who lost loved ones in pandemic ‘will not be ignored’ – inquiry chair – The Independent
‘The second stage of the inquiry is set to examine key decision-making in Westminster between January 2020 and February 2022.’
The Independent, 3rd October 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Five companies fined £590,000 for making almost 2 million marketing calls targeting vulnerable people – The Independent
‘Five companies have been fined a total of £590,000 for collectively making 1.9 million unwanted marketing calls to elderly and vulnerable people.’
The Independent, 21st September 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Met Police: Ex-officers admit sending racist WhatsApp messages – BBC News
‘Five former Met Police officers have admitted sending racist messages on WhatsApp, following a BBC Newsnight investigation.’
BBC News, 7th September 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Top 3 Cases – Falcon Chambers
‘In this series of articles, we aim to highlight 3 of the most interesting cases in our field decided in the past month. This month, the Court of Appeal have been busy and we were spoilt for choice! We’ve selected cases on concurrent leases under the telecoms Code, receivership, and the ability to challenge a decision by the Upper Tribunal to refuse permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal.’
Falcon Chambers, 1st August 2023
Source: www.falcon-chambers.com
Prince Harry’s lawsuit against Sun publisher can go to trial, judge rules – The Guardian
‘The Duke of Sussex’s damages claim over allegations of unlawful information gathering against the publisher of the Sun will go to trial, a high court judge has ruled.’
The Guardian, 27th July 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Appeal court clarifies Electronic Communications Code interpretation – OUT-LAW.com
‘A recent unanimous ruling of the Court of Appeal has reiterated the willingness of the courts of England and Wales to consider and apply the purpose of the Electronic Communications Code (the Code) when seeking to interpret provisions of the Code that lack clarity – to the benefit of both operators and infrastructure providers alike, experts have said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 21st July 2023
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
UK high court to look at legal battle over WhatsApp evidence for Covid inquiry – The Guardian
‘A legal battle between the Cabinet Office and Covid public inquiry will be considered by the high court on Friday, amid wrangling over the issue of redacted documents, including Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages.’
The Guardian, 30th June 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Home Office faces legal claims over seizure of asylum seekers’ phones – The Guardian
‘The Home Office faces a wave of legal claims after the UK’s surveillance watchdog found a blanket policy of seizing thousands of asylum seekers’ mobile phones caused “significant harm”.’
The Guardian, 4th June 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Why is Prince Harry heading to the High Court? – BBC News
‘Prince Harry is one of four people claiming Mirror Group newspapers hacked their voicemails. It is one of several cases the Duke of Sussex is currently involved in with British tabloids.’
BBC News, 5th June 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist found guilty of plotting to destroy 5G masts – The Independent
‘An anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist has been found guilty of plotting to destroy 5G masts after subscribing to an ideology that they were linked to the Covid-19 vaccine.’
The Independent, 1st June 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
New blueprint to protect public from scammers – Home Office
‘Government launches new strategy to cut fraud, pursue fraudsters and empower the public.’
Home Office, 3rd May 2023
Source: www.gov.uk
Clampdown on cold calls and mass texting technology announced in UK – The Guardian
‘Ministers have announced a clampdown on the use of cold calls to sell financial products and on technology which allows mass texting of numerous phones as part of a strategy to combat fraud, now the UK’s most common crime.’
The Guardian, 2nd May 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Gambling white paper: Gamblers losing £1,000 a day to face checks – BBC News
‘Gamblers who are losing £1,000 a day are expected to face checks as part of new, tougher gambling regulations.’
BBC News, 27th April 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Cassandra Somers-Joce: Government by WhatsApp: Where are we now? – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘A new Cabinet Office policy has recently been published which provides guidance on the use of instant messaging technologies, such as WhatsApp, by government officials. The policy discourages the use of non-corporate communications channels (“NCCCs”), particularly when these platforms are accessed on personal devices. The new policy is a welcome development in the regulation of “government by WhatsApp,” and demonstrates better practice with respect to the public law duties which are applicable in this context, namely, the Public Records Act 1958, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the common law duty of candour.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd April 2023
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Rory Cochrane comments on Supreme Court’s latest telecommunications decision – Devereux Chambers
‘Last week [8 March], the Supreme Court handed down its decision in VIP Communications (In Liquidation) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSC 10, upholding the Secretary of States’ appeal. The Supreme Court has confirmed that the Secretary of State can rely on section 5 of the Communications Act 2003 to direct Ofcom, on national security grounds, not to make regulations exempting commercial multi-user GSM gateways (COMUGs) from licensing.’
Devereux Chambers, 8th March 2023
Source: www.devereuxchambers.co.uk
Manchester police officers shared ‘abhorrent’ group messages, IOPC finds – The Guardian
‘Six Greater Manchester police officers shared “abhorrent” racist, ableist and other offensive messages in a WhatsApp group, an investigation by the police watchdog has found.’
The Guardian, 12th April 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
