July 2007

Has the BBC committed offences?

July 19, 2007

Something that I’ve not heard mentioned yet in all the discussion of the BBC’s fake phone-ins is the question whether criminal offences might have been committed. Looking at the details of the competitions, it’s difficult to tell: the facts are explained quite vaguely, so it’s not clear whether production staff and presenters invited audience members [...]

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The Lugovoi folly… continued

July 12, 2007

The British government was at it again yesterday, I’m sorry to say: the DPP was insisting that Russia ought to extradite Andrei Lugovoi for the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. I’m sorry to say I’m forced to agree with Vladimir Putin, that keeping this sort of thing up simply casts doubt on the competence of the [...]

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A Tale of Two ex-Prime Ministers

July 7, 2007

As the “Cash for Honours” affair appears to be reaching a climax in Britain – the CPS believe no further investigation is needed, and they can now proceed to advise whether any offences are diclosed by the evidence, and to take a decision whether anyone is to be charged – on the other side of [...]

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Proscribing Hizb-ut-Tahrir

July 6, 2007

At PMQs the other day, David Cameron asked why the government hasn’t banned the Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir. The Tory website explains Cameron’s stance (and provides a link the to BBC video of PMQs) here. Gordon Brown responded by saying there had to be “evidence”; and the former Home Secretary John Reid weighed in later to [...]

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Coutts convicted of murder – again

July 5, 2007

Graham Coutts has been found guilty for a second time of murdering Jane Longhurst in 2003. He was originally convicted at Lewes Crown Court in 2004, but his successful appeal to the House of Lords last summer led to a retrial. In essence, the Lords decided the conviction was unsafe because the possible alternative verdict [...]

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Niazi & Others v Home Secretary: no requirement to consult

July 4, 2007

Last week I missed an interesting Administrative Court judgment on an important issue: whether the then Home Secretary, Charles Clarke (gosh – doesn’t that seem a long time ago?) acted lawfully when, in April 2006, he announced in Parliament the abolition, without notice, of the ex gratia scheme for compensation of miscarriages of justice. At [...]

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Brown’s constitutional package

July 3, 2007

Gordon Brown has today made a statement to the House of Commons on his plans for constitutional change – and overall, I have to say it’s a mixed but overall reasonably good package. It’s not as ambitious or radical as a lot of people would have liked, as has been trailed, or as I suspect [...]

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Blawg Review 115

July 3, 2007

What an excellent Blawg Review by Nearly Legal. The British really are coming!

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Keeper of vehicle may be required to name driver to police: Strasbourg upholds road traffic legislation

July 2, 2007

The European Court of Human Rights’s ruling last Friday in the cases of O’Halloran and Francis means the police, when they suspect a driving offence has been committed, can continue to compel the registered keepers of vehicles to provide the name and address of the driver. They will also be able to continue using that [...]

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Health Act 2006: smoking ban now in force

July 1, 2007

As has been widely reported, sections 1 to 12 of the Health Act 2006 came into force this morning, in effect introducing a ban on smoking in enclosed public places – including pubs, bars, caffs and restaurants as well as offices, galleries and so on. Apparently a group called “Freedom2Choose” claims that the smoking ban [...]

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