Novichok inquiry latest: Probe opens into poisoning of Dawn Sturgess via nerve agent in Salisbury – The Independent

‘The public inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who died in the Salisbury Novichok poisonings, is set to open on Monday.’

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The Independent, 14th October 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Sexual abuse victims claim free court transcript scheme was ‘hidden’ from them for months – The Independent

Posted October 14th, 2024 in delay, judgments, Ministry of Justice, news, sexual offences, victims by tracey

‘Sexual abuse victims believe they could have been saved from months of suffering after they claim a government scheme to allow them access to free court transcripts was “hidden” from them for months.’

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The Independent, 13th October 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Daughter murdered parents ‘in cold blood’ and lived with bodies for years after hiding them in makeshift tombs – The Independent

Posted October 14th, 2024 in families, imprisonment, murder, news, sentencing by tracey

‘An “intelligent manipulator” murdered her parents “in cold blood” then hid them in makeshift tombs and lived alongside their bodies for four years.’

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The Independent, 13th October 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Post Office explores taking branch owner-operators to court again – The Guardian

Posted October 14th, 2024 in civil justice, computer programs, fraud, inquiries, news, postal service by tracey

‘The Post Office has recently explored resuming the practice of taking branch owner-operators to court, as mounting losses from shortfalls in its network of 11,500 outlets hit £12m a year. During the Horizon IT scandal more than 900 operators were wrongly prosecuted over discrepancies caused by the faulty accounting software, many of them brought privately by the Post Office, a practice it stopped in 2015 and has promised not to restart. However, the Post Office continued to use the court system for the civil recovery of losses from branches until 2018.’

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The Guardian, 13th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lucy Letby: police and CPS handling of case raises new concerns about convictions – The Guardian

‘When the public inquiry into the crimes of the former nurse Lucy Letby opened in Liverpool last month its chair, Lady Justice Thirlwall, dismissed concerns about the safety of the convictions as “noise”. The judge cautioned that questions being raised were increasing the distress of parents whose children had died or been harmed.’

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The Guardian, 10th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Religious hate crimes at record levels in England and Wales, official figures show – The Guardian

Posted October 11th, 2024 in hate crime, Islam, Israel, Judaism, news, religious discrimination, statistics, war by sally

‘Religious hate crimes in England and Wales have soared by 25% to record levels, coinciding with the Israel-Hamas conflict, government statistics show.’

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The Guardian, 10th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Cafcass adopts new policy to protect victims of domestic abuse in court system – Local Government Lawyer

‘Family Court Advisors and Children’s Guardians will no longer use language such as ‘claims’ or ‘alleges’ in reports to court, using instead the words of children and adults who are victims of domestic abuse, in line with a new Domestic Abuse Practice Policy published by Cafcass.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th October 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Children being traumatised at Gatwick deportation centre, finds watchdog – The Guardian

‘Young children are being traumatised while held at a Gatwick airport deportation centre that should be closed down, a watchdog has found.’

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The Guardian, 11th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Employment Rights Bill to bring once-in-a-generation change for UK employers – OUT-LAW.com

‘The new Employment Rights Bill introduced by the UK government represents one of the most significant single items of employment legislation ever to be published, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th October 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Navigating grandparents’ rights on divorce or following the death of a parent – Kingsley Napley Family Law Blog

Posted October 11th, 2024 in bereavement, children, divorce, families, grandparents, news by sally

‘Grandparents have become increasingly involved in their grandchildren’s day to day lives over the last few decades, providing love, support, child care and a sounding board for frazzled parents. A number of studies have highlighted the benefit to children of having positive relationships with their grandparents and the importance of these connections is celebrated each year on Grandparents’ Day. However, as family dynamics shift over time, particularly following a divorce or bereavement, grandparent/grandchild relationships are often impacted.’

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Kingsley Napley Family Law Blog, 10th October 2024

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

Homeless man who pushed stranger on to tube tracks jailed for life – The Guardian

Posted October 11th, 2024 in attempted murder, imprisonment, London, news, sentencing, transport by sally

‘A homeless man who pushed a stranger on to the tracks of the tube has been jailed for life with a minimum term of eight years.’

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The Guardian, 10th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Strangeways jail put in emergency measures over ‘catastrophic’ levels of drugs and violence – The Independent

‘The notorious Strangeways prison has been put into emergency measures after standards of safety and hygiene were found to have collapsed, leaving the jail “fundamentally unsafe” for both prisoners and staff.’

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The Independent, 10th October 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

British soldiers jailed for selling cocaine worth nearly £100,000 to comrades – The Guardian

Posted October 11th, 2024 in armed forces, conspiracy, drug offences, imprisonment, news, sentencing by sally

‘A group of British soldiers have been jailed after a court heard they sold almost £100,000 worth of cocaine to fellow military personnel and bought designer products with the proceeds.’

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The Guardian, 10th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

New UK laws to stop repeat of P&O mass sackings scandal go before parliament – The Guardian

Posted October 10th, 2024 in bills, employment, news, ships by sally

‘Laws to ensure that the P&O Ferries mass sackings scandal can never recur will be laid before parliament this week as Labour clamps downs on poor working conditions at sea, with cruise and cargo ships also in its sights.’

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The Guardian, 9th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

English water system singled out for criticism by UN special rapporteur – The Guardian

Posted October 10th, 2024 in human rights, news, pollution, United Nations, water by sally

‘The privatised English water system has been singled out for criticism by the UN special rapporteur on the human right to clean water.’

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The Guardian, 9th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Labour’s employment rights bill: what key changes will it bring? – The Guardian

Posted October 10th, 2024 in bills, consultations, employment, news by sally

‘Labour’s employment rights bill is the biggest step towards enacting one of its key election offers: to make sweeping changes to rights at work and improve pay. Here are the main details of the legislation, though much of it will take more than two years to consult on and implement.’

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The Guardian, 10th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Costs orders following budgeting – two recent cases – 1 QMLR

Posted October 10th, 2024 in budgets, chambers articles, costs, news by sally

‘Two judgments recently handed down by Master Thornett illustrate the risk of adverse costs orders being made at Costs Management Conferences where parties fail to produce reasonable and proportionate costs budgets.’

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1 QMLR, 9th October 2024

Source: 1corqmlr.com

The Case for Overseas Constituencies – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted October 10th, 2024 in citizenship, domicile, elections, news, regulations, time limits by sally

‘The Elections Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. Section 14, amending sections 1 and 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1985, removed the 15-year limit that had hitherto applied to electoral registration of British citizens who reside abroad. Following the commencement of the Representation of the People (Overseas Electors) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 on 16 January 2024, overseas voters were able to register to vote in July’s General Election; they did so either at the last address they were registered to vote before leaving or, for newly eligible voters, at the last address they were resident in the UK before emigrating. This post argues that the establishment of overseas constituencies in UK Parliamentary elections is a further desirable electoral reform.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 9th October 2024

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

High Court dismisses Judicial Review challenge to council housing allocation scheme – Local Government Lawyer

‘The High Court has dismissed a judicial review challenge to the London Borough of Enfield’s housing allocation scheme, after a claimant contended the scheme was unlawful both on a public law basis and that it breached the anti-discrimination provisions as set out in the ECHR and/or the Equality Act.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th October 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Three-quarters of sexual violence survivors subjected to rape myths in court – The Guardian

‘Three-quarters of survivors of sexual violence are subjected to rape myths during cross-examination, such as being asked what they were wearing or if they were out for revenge, according to research.’

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The Guardian, 10th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com