‘Too many offences escape prosecution for want of anyone willing to give evidence. When the police can’t help, it’s time fpr a new approach…’
The Independent, 15th February 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘In a busy pub a man is brutally murdered. The killer doesn’t feel the need to hide his face. What does the silence of witnesses mean for a community struggling with gang violence?’
BBC News, 8th February 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Mark William Patrick MacLennan v Her Majesty’s Advocate, [2015] HCJAC 128. The High Court has refused an appeal under Article 6 on the lack of effective cross-examination of child witness, but has provided interesting commentary on how such investigations could be better handled in future to meet Strasbourg standards.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd February 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Operation Midland is dismissed as “inept” after it emerges that the Metropolitan police took almost a year to interview key witnesses.’
Daily Telegraph, 4th February 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Exclusive: Metropolitan Police’s handling of aborted child sex abuse case challenged as key abuse witness reveals police informant “stole” details.’
Daily Telegraph, 24th January 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘More than 11,000 criminal trials in England and Wales had to be abandoned last year because witnesses pulled out or did not appear at court, a watchdog has said.’
BBC News, 19th January 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘After I was mugged, a suspect was arrested but the case was dropped because of ‘grave concerns’ about the credibility of my evidence. Can a new law protect thousands of women like me?’
The Guardian, 18th January 2016
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Richard Barraclough QC has written a commentary on a recent case in which he was Leading Counsel for one of the defendants.
The case involved serious sex/trafficking offences, including engaging an honourable and vulnerable girl in prostitution. The case was complex and involved the use of an intermediary. The issues raised in evidence (and the submission of no case) concerned the number and structure of ABE interviews, the use of pre ABE interviews and meetings, the extent to which a victim should be challenged in ABE interviews and the use of pre prepared witness statements where the victim refused to engage in the ABE process.
Reforms are now proposed in relation to the investigation and trial process in this type of case.
The commentary provided by Richard Barraclough QC gives a detailed analysis of the processes involved and the challenges in this type of case with such a vulnerable victim and where the process is so complex.’
Full story(Word)
6 Pump Court, 12th January 2016
Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk
‘Letters the Crown Prosecution Service sends to victims of crime often lack empathy and contain template paragraphs that sometimes fail to convey basic information, according to an official inspectorate report.’
The Guardian, 13th January 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A Manchester-based property developer cannot claim litigation privilege for secret recordings of meetings where witnesses were “deliberately deceived”, the High Court has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 8th December 2015
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘A High Court judge has launched an extraordinary attack on a senior property partner, saying that although he was “on the whole” an honest witness, he “plainly cut corners all the time in his practice”.’
Legal Futures, 30th November 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Victims of domestic violence and other vulnerable witnesses are being put at risk by the erratic handling of sensitive cases by police and prosecutors, inspectors have said.’
The Guardian, 12th November 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Data protection arrangements should be reviewed in the modern world of social media and cybercrime, a specialist solicitor has said, after it emerged the Crown Prosecution Service delivered unencrypted DVDs to a film studio for 12 years.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 9th November 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘High-profile rape cases like that involving a violinist who took her own life after giving evidence against her abuser have prompted major changes in the way victims are treated in court.’
BBC News, 7th October 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A former British Airways flight attendant is suing G4S for more than £100,000 after witnessing the death of Jimmy Mubenga, a deportee who suffocated while being restrained by security guards employed by the firm.’
The Guardian, 30th September 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A solicitor who forged his client’s signature on a witness statement has been struck off, even though the client himself expressed surprise that disciplinary action had been taken.’
Legal Futures, 24th September 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A man convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl has been jailed for seven years, in a case in which the retired high court judge Elizabeth Butler-Sloss told the jury she was astonished at the allegations against the man.’
The Guardian, 14th September 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Alison Saunders, is boosting the support offered to victims and witnesses at Crown Court proceedings by ensuring that the vital service offered by our dedicated CPS paralegal staff is provided exactly where it is needed – at court where the victims and witnesses are.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 11th September 2015
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
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