January 2012 Archives

Two Libyan dissidents are taking a former senior MI6 officer to court to challenge a little-known law which protects members of the security service from criminal liability for acts carried out abroad, providing that they are sanctioned by a cabinet minister.

The law is contained in section seven of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 which states that British security and intelligence officers are not liable under the criminal or civil law of any part of the United Kingdom for acts authorised by a senior minister. The clause has been dubbed Britain's 'licence to kill' law.

Abdul Hakin Belhaj and Sami al-Saadi have launched the legal challenge after claiming that they were tortured by Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi's secret police. They accuse Mr Allen, who was the most senior officer in MI6 responsible for counter-terrorism at that time, alleging that he was complicit in their torture.

The Law Society has spoken out to warn the Government that proposed changes to the way 'no-win, no-fee' legal arrangements work may deny the poor access to justice.

The House of Lords is currently debating changing the law to put an end to what has been dubbed 'the compensation culture'. However, the Law Society warns that wholesale changes to the law would penalise victims of accidents, fraud and negligence.

The current law has been widely criticised for fostering a culture of legal compensation claims for the slightest problem or mishap. This has largely been the case since legal reform in the late 1990s which brought in no-win, no-fee legal services to replace legal aid in a wide variety of cases.

The Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke has said that convicts will not be allowed to make claims from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme under proposed new rules.

The fund was set up to help victims of crime, and now changes will be made to ensure that those committing crimes cannot benefit from the scheme.

Mr Clarke has previously been accused by his own party of taking too soft a line on criminal justice. In response he will also unveil a £50m scheme designed to ensure that criminals make greater payments to their victims.

A senior Labour politician has raised the controversial issue of smacking children, saying it is both necessary and right.

David Lammy, MP for Tottenham has been criticised for suggesting that working class parents need the ability to discipline their children at home without fear of prosecution.

Mr Lammy had caused controversy by suggesting that last summer's riots were caused by parents' inability to smack their children when disciplining them.

With just six months to go until the opening of the world's greatest sporting event in London, it has been revealed that those attending the closing ceremony will be unable to buy any official merchandise at the event.

It is understood that the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was informed of the news a few weeks ago, too late to be capable of doing anything to change the situation.

The situation has arisen because the closing ceremony falls on a Sunday, and is therefore subject to trading laws which mean that large retailers can only open for restricted hours on a Sunday.

The man chairing the current enquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press has spoken out to indicate that online social networks should be treated differently to other news outlets under any new press regulatory regime.

Lord Justice Leveson said yesterday that he believed that there was a difference between an online version of a newspaper or magazine, and a social-media website which hosts conversations between individuals.

The Leveson Enquiry has heard evidence from across a broad spectrum of the media as well as victims of phone hacking conducted by the News of the World, such as the parents of murdered schoolgirl Millie Dowler, and celebrities including Hugh Grant and comedian Steve Coogan.

The Government has lost an appeal against a previous ruling which stated that their decision to cut subsidies for solar panels was illegal.

The previous High Court judgment declared that the move to cut the tariff, which was implemented before a consultation on the matter had been concluded, was legally flawed. The Court of Appeal yesterday upheld that decision.

The case surrounds the controversial decision taken by the Government last October to more than halve the amount of money that they would pay to homeowners who installed solar panels.

New laws on data protection proposed by the European Commission will include large fines to ensure that businesses comply with their terms.

The Commission announced their plans this week for legal reform, and firms who breach the proposed legislation will face fines of up to 2% of their annual turnover.

The changes are to be made to the 1995 data protection rules which are now felt to be out of date. They include provisions for easier access to data, and greater freedom to move your own personal data from one firm to another.

The mother of four-year-old John-Paul Massey, who was killed after being attacked by a dangerous dog, has called on the Prime Minister to change the law.

Angela McGlynn has spoken out just over two years after the horrific incident which left her son dead, in November 2009.

The boy's uncle Christian Foulkes, who was 23 at the time, admitted owning the illegal breed and was jailed for four months for the offence in 2010. Christian's mother, Helen Foulkes, 64, admitted a charge of keeping a dangerous dog and was also given a four-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months and was also banned from keeping a dog ever again.

The House of Lords Constitution Committee has called for a change in the law, which would guarantee that voters who arrive at a polling station before 10pm would be legally entitled to cast their ballot.

The change is said to be urgent, and must be in place before the next general election in May 2015.

The recommendation comes almost two years after unprecedented scenes at polling stations at the last general election in 2010, when around 1,200 voters were unable to cast their ballot after being held in long queues outside stations in 16 different constituencies.

A music industry report has labelled the UK Government's slow progress on new piracy legislation "disappointing". The delays in implementing the new Digital Economy Act 2010 mean that levels of piracy in the UK are still very high.

In its report, the International Federation of the Phonographic Institute (IFPI) says that the UK lags well behind France where new anti-piracy legislation has led to a 26% drop in the levels of illegal downloading previously recorded.

However, despite the legislation in France some 28% of all internet users still access unlicensed sites which infringe copyright law.

A controversial piece of new legislation aimed at outlawing dangerous cycling looks set for the scrap heap after failing to secure the government backing needed to get it onto the statute book. However, the law's proposer, Andrea Leadsom, is vowing to fight on despite the setback.

Mrs Leadsom is the Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire. Last year she proposed a new law aimed at introducing a specific offence of causing death by dangerous cycling.

The new law was felt to be necessary as the current offence of dangerous cycling carries a maximum penalty of £2,500 with no possibility of prison, even in the most serious cases.

The Employment Relations Minister Edward Davey has announced plans to fund two pilot schemes aimed at bringing alternative dispute resolution into employment disputes.

The schemes, which will run in Manchester and Cambridge, will allow small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to participate in mediation-networks to help them settle employment disputes quicker and for less money.

The announcement comes off the back of figures which show that there were a staggering 218,000 claims made by employees against employers last year. Each claim costs a small business around £4,000 to defend, and the court system costs the taxpayer some £84m to run.

A man paralysed from the neck downwards after suffering a stroke will take his case to the High Court today in order to win the right to allow doctors to end his life.

Tony Nicklinson is suffering from a condition known as 'locked-in syndrome', where almost all the muscles in his body are paralysed except for those in his eyes. This means that although he is awake and alert he can only communicate by blinking his eyes, and must be fed through a tube.

His solicitor, Saimo Chahal agrees that the case raises "difficult legal, moral and ethical questions."

Scientists have secured a £6m funding grant to investigate a new technique for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) which could revolutionise the passing of hereditary diseases.

The technique involves using genetic material from a third donor, in order to help remove hereditary heart, muscle or brain conditions which could be passed from parents to the newborn child.

The method is not without its critics, who argue that the involvement of a third person's DNA into a donor egg would mean that the baby would inherit a tiny part of their genetic code from a third human being.

A man caught driving a mobility scooter after consuming more than four times the legal alcohol limit has been let off from a drink-driving charge at a South West magistrates' court.

Despite three hearings, the court decided in the end that the scooter was too small to be classed as a road vehicle.

Mr James Spangenberg-Ferrelli was stopped by police officers in his home town of Tiverton in Devon. The attending police officers then asked him to provide a sample of breath, which was found to be high at 147mg of alcohol per 100ml.

The House of Commons Justice Select Committee have concluded that the law relating to murder cases involving multiple perpetrators is too complicated and needs revising.

The so-called 'joint enterprise' cases, which often involve gang crime are particularly complex and MPs have urged that prosecutors are given new guidance to help clarify the situation.

The legal principle of 'joint enterprise' means that anyone who agrees or goes along with a crime committed by another is equally responsible in the eyes of the law and may be charged with the same offence.

Demonstrators camped outside St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London as part of the Occupy London protest can legally be evicted, the High Court ruled today.

The Occupy London protest began in late October in response to a similar demonstration held outside the New York Stock Exchange.

Activists have camped outside the central London cathedral for nearly three months in protest against the state of the economy and the way the financial crisis is being handled by the present government.

The UK Government yesterday lost its legal battle to have a terror suspect deported to Jordan to face trial.

Abu Qatada was formerly described as Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, but seven judges at the European Court of Human Rights have ruled that he would not receive a fair hearing in the Middle Eastern state.

Qatada, whose real name is Omar Othman, has been detained in the UK facing deportation for six years.

The European Court of Human Rights have ruled that handing down life-long tariffs for murder is within the law and that previous whole-life sentences are safe under human rights law.

The decision was in response to a case brought by three lifers, Jeremy Bamber, Douglas Vintner and Peter Moore who had argued that their sentences were illegal as they offered no hope of release.

Lawyers for the three convicted murderers had argued that whole-life sentences amounted to 'unfair or degrading treatment' in contravention of article three of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In response to calls for legal reform, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke yesterday told MPS that he saw no case for the introduction of specific privacy laws to protect members of the public from the press.

This is despite ongoing revelations in the Leveson enquiry into media ethics and the outcry last year after the police investigation into phone hacking.

Giving evidence to the joint parliamentary Committee on Privacy and Injunctions Mr Clarke, a keen cigar smoker and jazz aficionado, said: "I don't think we are very clear on what a statute would say."

A new law drafted late last year has finally been put into operation as police moved in yesterday to evict protesters who have camped outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster for over a decade.

The protest began in 2001 with peace campaigners including the late Brian Haw setting up tents and erecting banners against the UK's involvement in the Iraq war. In May 2010 they set up 'Democracy Village' on the green opposite the Palace of Westminster.

Last July the Greater London Authority moved in to evict the protesters from the grass, but many stayed on, moving their tents onto the wide pavement around the square.

Campaigners have spoken out against plans to extradite a 23-year-old university student to the United States on suspected copyright infringement charges.

Richard O'Dwyer, who studies at Sheffield Hallam University, has been charged with a number of offences in the US relating to his TVShack website, which offers internet users access to other websites which stream films and television programmes in violation of copyright laws.

The case has stirred up renewed animosity towards the Extradition Act 2003, the piece of law under which Mr O'Dwyer would be removed to the US. Lawyers and human rights campaigners have spoken out against the move, which was sanctioned by magistrates in Westminster last week.

A teenage girl who survived a shooting massacre in County Durham on New Year's Day has called for the laws on possession of firearms to be reviewed.

Laura McGoldrick, who is 19, narrowly avoided death herself after her stepfather went on the rampage with a shotgun. Her mother, aunt and cousin were all killed in the attack.

Miss McGoldrick recalled the harrowing events of that day as part of an interview with a national newspaper. She described the moment she tried to call out to her mother to warn her that her stepfather had a gun and meant to kill her.

The private clinics which were involved in fitting faulty breast implants to women across the UK are thought to have a legal duty to rectify the problem, according to both politicians and lawyers.

The clinics have previously claimed that the Government has a moral responsibility to pay for operations to remove or replace the faulty French implants.

Earlier in the week a representative for one of the clinics involved in the case, Mel Braham, spoke out to say that he felt "clinics were as innocent as patients".

A High Court judge has ruled for the first time that the use of restraint in privately run institutions housing juvenile offenders was unlawful. It is thought the practice was widespread in such centres for over a decade.

The judicial review case was brought by the Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) to challenge justice secretary Ken Clarke's refusal to contact former detainees about their treatment whilst in detention between 1998 and 2008.

Mr Justice Foskett said that government agencies had failed to stop the unlawful use of restraint against large numbers of children held in centres run by G4S (formerly Group 4 Security) and Serco.

The internet age has been upon us for some time and, as computers get smaller, more portable and less expensive, many are asking whether access to the internet should be a fundamental human right.

As more and more of our lives are played out online, could denying access to the internet eventually become such a restriction of civil liberty as to constitute a breach of human rights?

A recent report by the United Nations Human Rights Council looked at exactly this question.

The High Court has ruled that the BBC can record a filmed interview with a terror suspect who has been detained in the UK without trial for seven years.

The documentary was previously barred from production by the Ministry of Justice.

The terror suspect set to feature in the documentary is Babar Ahmed, a 37-year-old British Muslim who was arrested in December 2003 as part of a crackdown on terror suspects living within UK borders.

A prison inspector has condemned conditions at Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire, which holds some of the UK's most dangerous prisoners.

In his report he describes some facilities at the prison as "not fit for purpose" and went on to say that the use of those facilities is "unacceptable". In an overall assessment, however, he described overall conditions as "reasonable".

The main criticisms are levelled at exercise facilities, which are created by two cages, and used for segregated inmates. The report also criticises the practice of 'slopping out' which is still used at the prison, despite the fact that it was abolished in the UK in 1996.

A 52-year-old former Metropolitan police officer has been arrested at his home in Berkshire by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

The arrest was made yesterday morning, as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations that police officers helped tabloid newspapers construct stories using police data.

The former officer was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and offences under the Data Protection Act 1998.

The validity of provisions contained in the Obscene Publications Act 1959 has been called into question after a jury at Southwark Crown Court acquitted a London man in a trial relating to the distribution of obscene material.

The case concerned defendant Michael Peacock, who ran a business distributing extreme pornographic DVDs via the online trade site, Craigslist. The DVDs featured acts including male fisting, urination, bondage and sadomasochism.

He was arrested and charged with six counts of publishing obscene articles likely to 'deprave and corrupt' in accordance with the Obscene Publications Act 1959.

David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond have clashed over plans for a referendum to be held on Scotland gaining independence from the United Kingdom.

The plans, which are rapidly gaining pace, would see a referendum held on the matter of Scottish independence, something which Mr Salmond's Scottish National Party have long coveted.

However, in a move which has angered Mr Salmond, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that any referendum on Scottish independence must be held within the next 18 months. In return, Mr Salmond has accused the Prime Minister of meddling in Scottish affairs.

Celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson escaped with a caution after being arrested for theft at a Tesco Supermarket in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. The 60-year-old was arrested in the store, after conducting five separate shoplifting episodes in 16 days over the Christmas period.

The I'm-a-Celebrity-Get-Me-Out-of-Here star was stopped by security guards in the store last Friday after being filmed smuggling cheese and wine into his shopping bags whilst at the self-service check out.

Shoplifting is a criminal offence, punishable under the Theft Act 1968, and carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison.

David Cameron's plans to grant shareholders the power to veto directors' salaries and bonuses has come under attack from business leaders who say that the plans will be almost impossible to implement, and will fail to influence businesses in the correct way.

Last week Mr Cameron announced plans to end the culture of executives "patting each other on the back whilst handing out each other's pay rises". To do so Mr Cameron announced plans to hand shareholders in businesses a vote on top pay packages, and on payments for failure.

However the Institute of Directors, which represents many of the UK's top executives in both large and small businesses has hit back, saying that the plans would create swathes of litigation and could hinder companies when they search for the best candidates for the top jobs.

Ministers are drawing up new plans which could see divorced parents given a legal right to see their children.

Under the proposals, family courts will be obliged to ensure that both parents are given access to children as part of any divorce settlement. Parents who continue to refuse access would be held in contempt of court, and could face hefty fines or even jail.

Under the law as it stands, the family courts award custody rights to mothers in the vast majority of divorce cases. Access for fathers is often patchy, with mothers effectively holding all the cards.

David Cameron has announced a new plan to cap the amount of money lawyers can earn from personal injury cases. Describing the vast industry in accident and personal injury litigation as the 'health and safety monster', Mr Cameron pledged to curb its excesses to protect small businesses.

The plans would see lawyers' fees in personal injury, public liability and employers' liability cases capped at £25,000 in value. The move has already been successfully implemented for road traffic accident cases.

The plans have been welcomed by UK insurance companies which have long called for an end to the so called 'have a go' compensation culture, which sprung up after the introduction of no-win, no-fee legal representation at the end of the 1990's.

Shirley Woodman, an 82-year-old retired teacher who fought to change the law regarding the right to receive compensation for a serious crime has been awarded an MBE for services to the community in Yorkshire.

Mrs Woodman, previously known only as Mrs A for legal reasons, received the award as part of the Queen's New Year honours.

Mrs Woodman was attacked by Iorworth Hoare in Roundhay Park, Leeds in 1988. Mr Hoare was a serial sex attacker with previous convictions for rape, two other attempted rapes and three indecent assaults against his name. Mr Hoare was caught, and Mrs Woodman testified against him in court, evidence which helped secure his conviction and a life sentence for the attacks.

A major new report will today tell MPs that they should consider changing the law on assisted suicide to allow some terminally ill people the right to end their lives at home with the help of their doctor.

The report by the Commission on Assisted Dying concluded that the option of assisted suicide could be safely offered provided stringent safeguards were observed.

The 400-page report is the result of more than a year of investigation by the Commission, which included a former commissioner of the Met, a former president of the General Medical Council, a leading consultant on disability equality, an Anglican priest and a range of mental health, palliative care and social care experts.

The Government has announced it is to commission a panel of academics and scientists to review the law against driving whilst under the influence of drugs. The experts will consider the methods for testing whether a driver has taken drugs, and whether there should be any legal limits for motorists, as there are for drinking and driving.

"Britain has some of the safest roads in the world, but we know how important it is to tackle the menace of drug-driving," said Mike Penning, the road safety minister.

"That is why we are putting together experts to give us advice on the technical aspects of introducing an offence of driving with an illegal drug in your body," he added.

Under the law as it was in 2003, the conviction of Gary Dobson for the murder of Stephen Lawrence yesterday would not have been possible. This is because previously the law made it impossible for the same person to be tried for the same crime twice.

That law was changed in 2003 and yesterday in dramatic circumstances Mr Dobson was found guilty of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, having been acquitted of the same charge in 1996.

The old law of double jeopardy or autrefois acquit, meaning previously acquitted, was designed to prevent the law trying a man repeatedly for the same offence. The principle had existed in English law since Norman times and is enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. However exceptions were permitted on the basis of a mistake in law, or if a conviction appeared unsafe.

The Government's plan to cut red tape for micro businesses has been branded a gimmick, after it was revealed that in the past year firms employing fewer than ten staff were not exempt from a single regulation. The claim was made by the head of regulatory affairs at the Institute of Directors, Alexander Ehmann.

"It's the Emperor's New Clothes. The moratorium exists, but it hasn't been applied to anything. Unless it is applied, it is meaningless," he said.

The Government introduced the scheme in April 2011, saying that it would relieve the burden of red tape on businesses employing fewer than ten people. The move was designed to try to boost innovation in the small business sector, which it was hoped would help carry the UK out of recession and into growth.

As the Ministry of Justice opened the new Rolls Building in London last month, it announced that some nine out of ten commercial cases handled by London law firms have an international link.

The announcement confirms London as a hub for international commercial law, and cements the reputation of the capital as an unrivalled centre for international commercial dispute settlement.

The Rolls Building was formally opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 7 December as a specialist centre for the resolution of financial, business and property disputes.