Pumpkin Court. (AI-generated image via Shutterstock.)

Recent legal news

Politics (and economics)

As all government depts await the Trick or Treat budget on Wednesday this week, the one department that can definitely not expect a massive boost is the Ministry of Justice. That’s not for want of asking. At the recent Lord Mayor of London’s Dinner for His Majesty’s Judges 2024, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill made clear that

“concrete steps are needed to help the courts and judiciary secure the rule of law effectively. And that includes ensuring that sustainable and long-term funding is made available.”

She went on to explain that

“ properly funded, modern, courts and tribunals are not something that is merely a benefit to the judiciary. Just like a robust Parliament or an effective Government, they benefit our democracy, its citizens and businesses. …

The point is in essence a simple one: the cost of justice is not the same as its value. And its worth to individuals, to the economy, to society as a whole, goes well beyond the numbers. Investment in the courts and tribunals is one that repays very many dividends. There is a price in a future without it.”

At the same dinner, the Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood MP, who is probably just as anxious to have proper funding for her department, was forced to explain why she had had to authorise the early release of so many prisoners simply to forestall the possible collapse of the criminal justice system and the breakdown of law and order. She then explained the need for the sentencing review which she had announced (covered in last week’s roundup) and expressed the intention not to be part of a continuing “merry go round” of Lord Chancellors such as had characterised the previous government. “I am a Lord Chancellor who is here for the long haul.”

But if she is to achieve what she hopes to, she will need the support of Treasury funding. And like all departments, she will need to make the best use of the funding available, since it is likely to remain hard to get.

As is traditional at such dinners, she concluded with a toast to the judges. But, as a Muslim, she doesn’t drink: so while others may have passed the port to the left, she left the port to the past.

Decisions about where to spend money are often taken on the basis of too little good data and evidence, according to the National Audit Office, which also criticises the lack of transparency around governmental decision-making. Those comments come in a new report on how to get the best out of money spent by government: Lessons learned: a planning and spending framework that enables long-term value for money. The Government needs to

“plan and prioritise its spending (and other activities) to address [its] objectives; monitor and manage both costs and value delivered; evaluate the results; adjust as necessary; and report to Parliament on how it has used taxpayers’ money.”

No doubt the budget will encourage all departments to take the NAO’s advice on board.

On the very eve of the budget, the NAO has also published a departmental overview of HM Treasury 2023–24, to provide an introduction to the Treasury and their examination of its spending and performance.

Police

The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP announced New reforms to boost confidence in police accountability system. This follows the long-awaited accountability review and draws on findings of the review into policing undertaken by Dame Louise Casey and the inquiry by Lady Elish Angiolini.

In a statement to Parliament, Yvette Cooper set out the government’s mission to “put confidence back into policing, ensuring both that the police have the confidence of the communities they serve, and that officers have the confidence they need to do the vital job of keeping people safe”. She set out new measures that will be taken forward in response to the accountability review started under the previous government, including:

  • a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers facing criminal proceedings following police shootings, up until the point of a conviction
  • raising the threshold for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to refer police officers to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), so that only cases that have a reasonable prospect of conviction are referred — as is already the test for members of the public suspected of committing a crime
  • a rapid independent review to consider the legal test for use of force in misconduct proceedings and the threshold for unlawful killing in inquests
  • an examination by the Director of Public Prosecutions of CPS guidance and processes in relation to charging police officers for offences committed in the course of their duties

Home Office: Factsheet on the government’s policy package on police accountability

Home Office: Independent Office for Police Conduct: Public body review 2024

IOPC: IOPC response to Government’s review of police accountability

The significance of the measures relating to the prosecution of firearms officers was underlined when, last week, firearms officer Sgt Martyn Blake was acquitted of the murder of gangster Chris Kaba, in his car, who was unarmed at the time. The shooting had attracted a lot of attention, but more facts emerged during and after trial from which the case appeared in a different light. After the trial the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley commented “No police officer is above the law, but we have been clear the system holding police to account is broken.”

BBC: Police officer cleared of murdering Chris Kaba

Guardian: Met police officer who shot Chris Kaba acquitted of murder

Anti-social behaviour

“Cracking down on anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission”, according to Dame Diana Johnson, the Crime and Policing Minister, speaking at the Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour Conference on 22 October 2024.

“Anti-social behaviour is not merely a low-level nuisance. It hits the poorest and most vulnerable communities hardest and, if left unchecked, leads to more serious offending”.

In her speech she set out some of the proposals the government has for tackling the ASB problem, including

  • Respect Orders to tackle the worst ASB offenders and stamp out issues such as public drinking and drug use to ensure that our communities are free from harm and nuisance.
  • End the effective immunity for low level shoplifting of goods under £200, to get rid of the perception that those committing low value shop theft will escape punishment.
  • Make it easier for the police to take illegal, dangerous and vehicle-related ASB off the streets for good, and quickly destroy vehicles such as off-road bikes, motorbikes and e-scooters that they seize from offenders.
  • Implement a new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, restoring patrols to town centres, recruiting thousands of additional police personnel, and ensuring every community has a named local police officer to turn to.
  • The Young Futures programme, involving the creation of “prevention partnerships” across England and Wales to map existing youth provision and at-risk individuals and work to ensure children and young people receive the support they need to stop them being pulled into a life of crime.

Prisons

Prison reform has also been in the news again. Earlier this month Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, gave a speech to the Prison Governors Association explaining his background interest in the penal system, and his thinking about its future.

“I’m clear that prison is a punishment. But that’s no reason to stop the one in four working-age people in the UK who have criminal records from getting jobs. We know that prison leavers are less likely to reoffend if they have a job within a year of release. So, getting them into work doesn’t just cut crime, it boosts our economy too. That’s a win-win we can’t ignore.”

As the CEO of a company that routinely employed ex-convicted, Timpson surely knows what he’s talking about. Let’s hope he has the support he needs to achieve his laudable aims.

Prison reform should go hand in hand with a review of sentencing policy. In a recent post, David Allen Green (Law and Policy Blog) discusses the appointment of David Gauke to head up a review of sentencing, and the likely obstacles he might face: Prisons and prisons-of-the-mind — how the biggest barrier to prisons reform is public opinion

Recent case summaries from ICLR

A selection of recently published WLR Daily case summaries from ICLR.4

COSTS — Discretion as to costs — Competition Appeal Tribunal: Merricks v Mastercard Inc, 17 Oct 2024 [2024] CAT 57; [2024] WLR(D) 446, CAT

DENTIST — Discipline — Suspension: Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care v General Dental Council (Danial v General Dental Council), 16 Oct 2024 [2024] EWHC 2610 (Admin); [2024] WLR(D) 441, KBD

HOUSING — Assured tenancy — Claim for possession: Hajan v Brent London Borough Council, 23 Oct 2024 [2024] EWCA Civ 1260; [2024] WLR(D) 456, CA

IMMIGRATION — Asylum — Child: CAO v Secretary of State for the Home Department, 23 Oct 2024 [2024] UKSC 32; [2024] WLR(D) 454, SC(NI)

INJUNCTION — Interlocutory — Jurisdiction to grant: Titan Wealth Holdings Ltd v Okunola, 18 Oct 2024 [2024] EWHC 2641 (KB); [2024] WLR(D) 448, KBD

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE — Statutory duty — Health care plan: R (A) v North Central London Integrated Care Board, 23 Oct 2024 [2024] EWHC 2682 (Admin); [2024] WLR(D) 455, KBD

PLANNING — Development consent — World Heritage Site: R (Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport, 16 Oct 2024 [2024] EWCA Civ 1227; [2024] WLR(D) 447, CA

PUBLIC HEALTH — Statutory nuisance — Causation: Ferko v Ealing Magistrates’ Court, 14 Oct 2024 [2024] EWHC 2592 (Admin); [2024] WLR(D) 439, KBD

SOLICITOR — Costs — Assessment: Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors Ltd, 23 Oct 2024 [2024] UKSC 34; [2024] WLR(D) 450, SC(E)

TRIBUNAL — First-tier Tribunal — Practice and procedure: Lea v GP Ilfracombe Management Company Ltd, 22 Oct 2024 [2024] EWCA Civ 1241; [2024] WLR(D) 449, CA

Recent case comments on ICLR

Expert commentary from firms, chambers and legal bloggers recently indexed on ICLR.4 includes:

Nearly Legal: The meaning of unfitness: Jillians v Red Kite Community Housing, 24 Sep 2024 Judgment PDF, County Ct

Law & Religion UK: Limits on anonymity: In re St Margaret’s, Ormesby [2024] ECC Nor 5, Const Ct

Inforrm’s blog: Permission to serve out set aside, forum and merits tests failed, “single publication rule” applied: Parish v Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.[2024] EWHC 2301 (KB), KBD

Local Government Lawyer: Parents fail in High Court challenge to permanent exclusion of child from school: R (LM) v An Academy Trust [2024] EWHC 2267 (Admin), KBD

12KBW: Booking referees: Supreme Court rules on employment status of part-time football officials: Professional Game Match Officials Ltd v Revenue and Customs Comrs [2024] UKSC 29; [2024] STC 1682, SC(E)

12 KBW Asbestos Law Blog: Wormleighton: Product liability litigation against Cape: Wormleighton v Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd [2024] EWHC 1971 (KB), KBD

4 New Square: A rose by any other name: ‘a good arguable case’ in Isabel dos Santos v Unitel: Unitel SA v Dos Santos [2024] EWCA Civ 1109; [2024] WLR(D) 433, CA

Free Movement: CJEU: discriminatory measures faced by women under the Taliban regime constitute acts of persecution: AH and FN v Bundesamt für Fremdenwesen und Asyl (Joined Cases C-608/22 and C-609/22); EU:C:2024:828, ECJ

Local Government Lawyer: High Court judge gives reasons for granting councils five-year injunction over Just Stop Oil protests: Thurrock Council & Anor v Adams & Ors [2024] EWHC 2576 (KB), KBD

UK Human Rights Blog: Husband who escorted his wife to Switzerland not denied access to her estate under Forfeiture Rule: Morris v Morris [2024] EWHC 2554 (Ch); [2024] WLR(D) 438, Ch D

Law and Policy Blog: A blow against the “alternative remedies” excuse: the UK Supreme Court makes it far harder for regulators to avoid performing their public law duties: In re an application by Noeleen McAleenon for Judicial Review [2024] UKSC 31, SC(NI)

Law Society Gazette: Court rules that claims survive despite personal injury dishonesty: Tekle Senay v Mulsanne Insurance Co Ltd [2024] EWCC 12, County Ct

Nearly Legal: Equality Act assessors and open advice: Laidley v Metropolitan Housing Trust Ltd [2024] EWHC 2611 (Ch), Ch D

Free Movement: Asylum delay challenge dismissed by High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland: JR247, Re Application for Judicial Review [2024] NIKB 72, KBD (NI)

Free Movement: Can a European national be deported on ‘imperative grounds of public security’ based solely on the barbarity of their crime?George v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 1192; [2024] WLR(D) 437, CA

Free Movement: Spain ordered to pay compensation for failures in trafficking case: TV v Spain (Application no. 22512/21), ECtHR

Nearly Legal: Unsuitable temporary accommodation and discrimination: R (Begum) v Tower Hamlets London Borough Council [2024] EWHC 2279 (Admin); [2024] WLR(D) 394, KBD

Wilberforce Chambers: Testamentary capacity: warning signs and professional best practice: In re Leonard (decd) [2024] EWHC 321 (Ch), Ch D

Kingsley Napley: Extra time: Professional Game Match Officials Ltd v Revenue and Customs Comrs [2024] UKSC 29; [2024] STC 1682, SC(E)

Nearly Legal: Procedural tails and substantive dogs: Hajan v Brent London Borough Council [2024] EWCA Civ 1260, CA

AND FINALLY…

Hard cheese

Neal’s Yard Dairy have been in the news after 22 tonnes of high-value cheddar was stolen by a diversion scam. The BBC reported that

“Hundreds of truckles of cheddar worth more than £300,000 have been stolen from London cheese specialist Neal’s Yard Dairy. Fraudsters posing as legitimate wholesalers received the 950 clothbound cheeses from the Southwark-based company before it was realised they were a fake firm. Neal’s Yard said it had still paid the producers of the cheese so the individual dairies would not have to bear the costs.”

The Times subsequently reported speculation that the fraudster may have been part of a criminal gang working to sneak luxury food into Russia where European cheese is banned (owing to special economic sanctions). Meanwhile Neal’s Yard has been inundated with no doubt meltingly generous offers of help. Publicity about the case has drawn attention to a problem that may have afflicted other suppliers, victims of criminal enterprises seeking to avoid sanctions or other limitations on the free movement of goods.

The Times: Is Russia behind the 22-tonne cheese heist?

The Times: Dairy ‘overwhelmed’ with help after falling prey to £300,000 cheese fraud

The “grate cheese robbery” has prompted a certain amount of cheesy pun-gency. We would suggest you have no truckle with fraudulent racletteers, while acknowledging that you would need (to be) crackers to go with all that cheddar, gorge it though you will, rind the clock, unless someone else takes a cut. (Mice work if you can get it.)

That’s it for now! Thanks for reading, and make sure you’re signed up for our email alerts.

This post was written by Paul Magrath, Head of Product Development and Online Content. It does not necessarily represent the opinions of ICLR as an organisation.