February 2011 Archives

The humble Cornish pasty has been granted protected status by the European Commission. From March 2011, only those pasties that have been made in Cornwall according to the traditional recipe may be called "Cornish pasties".

The campaign for protected status began in 2002 when Cornish pasty producers in Cornwall began to worry about competition from inferior products produced elsewhere in the country. Now it has been granted Protected Geographical Indication status, the producers can ensure that only their genuine product can be sold under the name.

Alan Alder, the head of the Cornish Pasty Association, said the status will "protect our British food legacy". He also said it will be good for the rural economy, as thousands are involved in the pasty industry in Cornwall.

The government is introducing new measures that will force divorcing couples to attend a mediation session before they can proceed to court. The measures, due to come into force on 6th April, are part of the government's plans to shake-up divorce procedures and reduce the pressure on the family law courts.

The Justice Minister, Jonathan Djanogly, said mediation is "a quicker, cheaper and more amicable alternative" to resolving disputes through the family court system.

An individual currently spends an average of £2,823 in court costs and legal fees when they pursue their divorce disputes, often involving arrangements for children and financial settlements, through the courts. The Ministry of Justice believes mediation is cheaper, with figures from legal aid cases showing the average cost per person to be £535.

Squatters who have been living in a £1million townhouse in Archway, North London, have been given free legal representation, much to the chagrin of the property owner who is representing himself in court to try and get them out of his house.

The group of 12 squatters, who are from France, Spain and Poland, broke into the three-story townhouse on 21st January 2011, not long after the owner, John Hamilton-Brown, brought the property.

As the squatters are EU citizens and are currently unemployed, they are entitled to legal aid. They have put a legal notice in the window of the property stating that anyone who enters without their permission could face six months in jail and a £5,000 fine.

A senior Commonwealth official, Mark Collins, has been sacked following investigations into allegations of racist bullying at the Commonwealth Foundation.

The Commonwealth Foundation is an inter-governmental organisation set up to support and strengthen the societies of the 54 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. It reports to and is funded by the governments of the member states.

Mark Collins' dismissal is the second incident in recent times in which the organisation's attitude towards non-white employees has come into question. A former employee, Anish Rajapakse, is bringing a claim for wrongful dismissal against the Foundation after she was dismissed for revealing the allegedly racially motivated and sexist bullying at the group.

Two brothers from Brighton have been convicted of misleading consumers after what was advertised as a Lapland-style theme park in the New Forest turned out to be a muddy field with a broken ice rink and no reindeer in sight.

Victor and Henry Mears advertised their winter wonderland in 2008, promising families a special Christmas treat, complete with a bustling market, magical snow, and picturesque log cabins. However, within an hour of its opening, hundreds of thoroughly disappointed customers had complained to the local authority's trading standards.

Customers, who were charged £30 each for a ticket (£10 for children under two), were presented with fairy lights strung on trees instead of a "magical tunnel of light" and two food stalls selling German sausage instead of a bustling market.

Divorce rates in England and Wales fell in 2009 for the sixth consecutive year and are the lowest since 1974.

In 2009, the total number of married couples who got divorced was 113,949. This was a 6.4% decrease from 2008, when 121,708 marriages ended in divorce.

The number of divorces in England and Wales peaked in 2003 when the divorce rate hit 153,065.

England bowler Graeme Swann has been cleared of drink-driving charges after the judge at Nottingham Magistrates' Court held his blood sample cannot be used as evidence.

Swann tested positive for having over the legal limit of alcohol in his blood supply last April. The current limit is 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. His solicitor argued that his blood sample should not be admissible as evidence due to the possibility of its contamination.

The England spinner expressed relief that the trial, which was postponed several times while he was on tour with England for the Ashes, has been resolved.

David Beckham's libel claim against celebrity magazine In Touch has been thrown out by a US federal judge.

The former England captain was seeking damages of $25 million (£15.5 million) from the magazine after they printed a story that alleged her had an affair with a former prostitute called Irma Nici, 26. Beckham has always denied the allegations, saying he was in England at the time of the alleged affair visiting his sick father.

Beckham's lawyer, Richard Kendall, said a basic investigation by the magazine would have revealed that the story was not true. He wanted the judge, Manuel Real, to allow the case to proceed so that he could obtain depositions in order to help with the LA Galaxy star's case.

The Government's proposed cuts to legal aid will increase the number of people having to represent themselves in court and cause severe delays, the Bar warns today.

In addition, the Bar's formal response to the Government said the cuts will have a "devastating effect on access to justice".

The chairman of the Family Law Bar Association, Stephen Cobb QC, said the lack of public funding for those in need will cause a surge in DIY litigants that will cause "gridlock" in the courts, and that the proposals will "cost more than they save".

Police officers may be forced to store blood and urine samples taken from drink drivers in the fridge, while the government-owned Forensic Science Service is shut down.

A memo from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) has advised chief constables across the UK that the Forensic Science Service (FSS) will no longer process any samples taken under the Road Traffic Act.

In the memo, leaked to the national press yesterday (10 February), the NPIA advised it hoped to find "alternative suppliers" within seven working days. Chief constables were urged not to make their own arrangements.

Celebrity couple Jude Law and Sienna Miller have broken up just six weeks after buying an £8 million North London home together.

The split was announced by Law's spokesman on Tuesday (February 8).

A rumour of a secret relationship between Miller and Joe Armstrong, her co-star in the West End play Flare Path, has been denied by her spokesperson.

He is one of Europe's most controversial politicians, a wealthy media baron, and runs one of Europe's most powerful countries. But Silvio Berlusconi is set for a court trial that could end his career.

The Italian prime minister has been asked by prosecutors in his country to stand trial on allegations of abuse of power and having sex with a 17-year-old alleged prostitute.

Since Berlusconi came to power in 1994, he has faced a string of allegations and court hearings. Yet he has never been convicted in any of his 2,568 trials so far.

UK banks will lend £190 billion to businesses while cutting their own bonuses, the government has announced.

The good news comes as many firms have struggled to raise funds and survive the financial crisis.

£76 billion of lending is to be allocated to the Business Growth Fund, which will be set aside for small or medium-sized UK businesses.

Posts on the social media platform Twitter are not private and newspapers are free to publish them, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has ruled.

The judgement came after Sarah Baskerville, a civil servant with the Department of Transport, posted tweets criticising government cuts and suggesting she was hungover at work. The tweets were picked up and published by the Daily Mail and the Independent on Sunday in November 2010.

In an article entitled 'The hounding of Baskerville', the Independent claimed Ms Baskerville was breaking the civil service's code of neutrality. They said she tweeted "How much more can we take from this Govt" over plans for McDonald's and PepsiCo to help write health policy, and asserted that "Nick Clegg sold out faster than Muse".

Police officers have cautioned a woman who left her teenage son babysitting his three-year-old brother.

The woman, a mother of three living in the Thames Valley area, said she was away for just 30 minutes and that she did not believe the toddler was in any danger.

Yet the married 40-year-old was suspended from her job for 18 months and she lost a place on a nursing course because of the caution. She is now fighting the Criminal Records Bureau to have the caution amended.

A sports management company insisting that Wayne Rooney owes them £4.3m, has won the right to appeal a court ruling against their claim.

Lord Justice Ward, speaking at the court of appeal yesterday (7 February), said that Proactive Sports Management should be allowed to appeal a ruling against their claim for 20 per cent of some of Rooney's biggest endorsement deals.

Rooney, who believes Proactive's claim is "just an attempt to exploit us", says he
will "fight for what's right".

The UK's professional body for solicitors is launching an attack on government plans to cut legal aid.

Campaigners at The Law Society are asking members of the public to sign an online petition, launched 7 February. They are protesting against the government's legal aid green paper, which they say will leave 30 million Britons 'silenced in court'.

The green paper, detailing £350m worth of legal aid cuts, was launched by Justice
Secretary Kenneth Clarke in November 2010. It is 'under consultation' until February 14, so anyone who objects has under a week to make themselves heard.

The government is to cut more than 10,000 police jobs across England and Wales, claim the Labour Party.

Labour's research findings say a 20 per cent slash to the police budget will see the loss of many thousands of police officers over the next two years.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said on the Guardian's website: "Far from protecting frontline policing as ministers promised, over 10,000 police officers are being cut in the next few years alone.

For everyone who obeys UK motoring law, here is a look back at some of the most famous "pure celebrity car crash disasters" of all time. Reminding us, if it can happen to them...

Below are just a few of the most memorable celebrity motoring law infringements of the past few years.

Findlaw challenges you to remember which stars had the accidents. Go to the MSN website and the answers will be revealed.

Cynical bookmakers are taking bets on whether Prince William and Kate Middleton will divorce after they get married.

The Royal couple are set to have their wedding on April 29, but Brits are already betting the pair will separate soon after.

The good news for William and Kate is that most bookies are giving short odds on them reaching their 10 year anniversary.

Over 135,000 individuals were declared insolvent in the UK last year, up from 2009.

The Insolvency Service released figures this week showing a rise of 0.7 per cent in individuals applying for insolvency in England and Wales.

Financial experts KPMG are quoted on the Independent website estimating creditors are losing £20 million a day from UK insolvencies.

A 41 year-old man was banned this week from having sex by the High Court, raising issues of the legal and moral complexities of such a ruling.

The man, known only as Alan, has an IQ of 48 and, what Judge Mr Justice Mostyn described as, a "vigorous sex drive."

The court learned Alan had been in a relationship with another man called Kieron .

A top UK judge has proposed changes to the law for unmarried partnerships, claiming the present situation is an "injustice".

Sir Nicholas Wall, head of the government's family law division, urged reform this week. 

The judge believes unmarried couples who break up should have the legal right to have a fair share of assets and money between them.

Actress Lindsay Lohan is facing alleged theft charges after US police obtained a search warrant to investigate a stolen necklace at the star's home.

But before the police could conduct a search of her California home, an unidentified person handed in the £1,500 necklace.

It is uncertain if Lohan will still face prosecution for what would be classified as possible grand theft.

BBC's Richard Hammond is revving up for a legal fight after a Mexican woman went to her lawyers, accusing the Top Gear star of attacking her compatriots.

Hammond described Mexicans on air as "lazy, feckless, flatulent [and] overweight"

Lawyers, on behalf of Iris De la Torre, are set to bring a test case against the popular television show under a new UK equality law. The new Equality Act came into force in September 2010.

A woman who was left with a facial twitch after a botched plastic surgery operation is set to sue her surgeon for more than £50 million compensation.

Businesswoman Penny Johnson claims her career as director of an IT firm was wrecked as a result of receiving severe nerve damage to her face.

The 49-year-old mother of three said she lost around £600,000 a year in earnings and still suffers "uncontrollable facial movement pain around the right eye and grimacing." Medical opinion has stated this will probably have to be endured by her for the rest of her life.

A landmark ruling has granted an African illegal immigrant the right to stay in the UK as her children were born in the country.

The woman, from Tanzania, has been in the UK since 1995 and made three claims for asylum that were rejected. Two claims were using false identities.

Although the court deemed the woman's Uk immigration record as "appalling", they ruled in her favour after learning she had mothered two British-born children.

It caused £300,000 to develop, became the most visited UK government website ever, and then crashed after just a few hours of going live.

Police.uk is a new UK portal that hopes to track the most crime-ridden streets across England and Wales. It has been designed to provide UK citizens with information about local crime statistics.

But the new website went down after too much public interest crashed its servers. It has also come under criticism for driving down property prices in high-crime areas.

The Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton has been rocked by revelations of a plot by anarchists to cause chaos on the day, says a report in The Sun.

300 anti-Royalists met in Manchester to plan an attack of smoke bombs, roadblocks and mayhem at the event.

Network X, the group behind the plot, are also planning a serious of protests against the wedding in the lead up to the big day on April 29.

UK football clubs bought and sold players before last night's 11pm transfer deadline, but did they make sure their purchases all had valid UK work visas?

The January transfer season ended with around £214 million being spent, including the sale of Spanish striker Fernando Torres to Chelsea for a British club record of £50 million.

But deals have fallen through in the past as players were caught without a UK visa.