Today, at the Crown Court at Manchester (sitting in a temporary “Nightingale Court” at the Lowry theatre in Salford), the trial of three men accused of offences arising out of the Hillsborough disaster was brought to an abrupt halt, when the judge ruled at the close of the prosecution case that the defendants had “no…
Read moreThe delays in criminal justice were caused by government, not Covid
I wrote a piece for yesterday’s Sunday Times on the spiralling delays in the criminal justice system. It can be found here. (£)
Read moreWhy did the Court of Appeal refuse to change the sentences of the killers of Pc Harper?
Following the Court of Appeal handing down judgment yesterday in the appeals against sentence by the killers of Pc Andrew Harper, and the Attorney General’s application to refer the sentences as unduly lenient, I posted the below thread, looking at what the judgment means.
Read moreWhat happened in the case of Emily Jones?
Today, on the second day of the trial of Eltiona Skana, who was charged with the murder of seven-year-old Emily Jones, the prosecution at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court offered no evidence on the charge of murder, and accepted the Defendant’s guilty plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. There has been much…
Read moreCan Magna Carta and “common law” give you immunity from Covid regulations?
In recent days, the news has carried reports of business owners who have been fined tens of thousands of pounds after defying the “Covid regulations” and refusing to close their business premises. Common to these cases is a belief expressed by the individuals that they were not bound by the snappily-titled Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions)…
Read moreFake Law: An evening with Joshua Rozenberg QC, Joanna Hardy and The Secret Barrister
Tonight I had the privilege of appearing on a panel with Joshua Rozenberg QC and Joanna Hardy, at a live event for the Human Rights Lawyers’ Association. My words were voiced by the wonderful Joanne Kane. Should you wish to watch the discussion, it is available here:
Read moreWhat can be done to appeal an unjust acquittal?
It was reported this morning that Lissie Harper, the widow of Pc Andrew Harper, has written to the Prime Minister asking for a retrial of her husband’s killers, who at their trial last week were acquitted of murder and convicted of manslaughter. There is also a petition, signed by over 200,000 people, seeking a similar…
Read moreThe truth about the government’s claims to have “ended the rough sex defence”
Following a lot of media coverage of this issue, I wrote a Twitter thread looking at the law behind it. I’ve reproduced it here in case it’s of interest. Postscript: Unforgivably, I suggested in the thread that R v Brown was a Court of Appeal decision when, as every first-year law student knows, it was…
Read moreThe UK government responded to Black Lives Matter – by protecting statues
I have written something for The Guardian about our politicians’ rush to create new criminal offences protecting statues. The piece can be found here.
Read moreGuest post by Rebecca Penfold and Aparna Rao: Covid-19 and the right to protest
I am pleased to host this guest post by Rebecca Penfold of St John’s Buildings and Aparna Rao of 5 Paper Buildings. ___________________________________________________________ The death of George Floyd has sparked a wave of protests from Minneapolis to Manchester, Los Angeles to London. Never before has the international community been subject to such restrictions as those…
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