Law

Campaigners say confused health professionals are driving the increasing prosecutions of women. Others blame the police. But ultimately, the Crown Prosecution Service has questions to answerEarlier this month, Nicola Packer was found not guilty of illegally terminating a pregnancy, after taking abortion pills beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks. She had spent more than four years living in the shadow of this prosecution, every detail of which – as reported by Phoebe Davis – is completely harrowing. In 2020, Packer was arrested before she left Chelsea and Westminster hospital, still bleeding from major surgery.Packer is one of six women to be prosecuted for this crime in England since the ..

Data including criminal records downloaded in ‘significant’ cyber-attack at Legal Aid Agency in April, ministry confirmsThe personal data of hundreds of thousands of legal aid applicants in England and Wales dating back to 2010, including criminal records and financial details, has been accessed and downloaded in a “significant” cyber-attack.Officials admit that the data may have included contact details and addresses of applicants, their dates of birth, national ID numbers, criminal history, employment status and financial data such as contribution amounts, debts and payments. Continue reading...

Journalist whose dogged reporting of grooming gangs in the north of England led to a public inquiry and changes in the lawThe award-winning reporter Andrew Norfolk had only just retired from the Times when he agreed to appear on one of its podcasts, The Story, to talk about Elon Musk, the businessman and adviser to the US president, at the start of this year. “This wasn’t how I intended to spend my 60th birthday,” he said.Not only did Norfolk, who has died suddenly, refuse to promote his work on social media – he spent only two weeks on Twitter in 2010 as part of a deal to watch the World Cup final in South Africa – but his dogged, forensic reporting was in so many ways the antithe..

As the state abandons decriminalization, treatment grants are going to sheriffs and district attorneys: ‘that might be two or three case managers’The state of Oregon, which has long struggled with one of the worst drug-addiction crises in the US, last year announced $20m in grants to help connect people to substance-use services.The funds, the governor and lawmakers said, would go to counties to support a “treatment first” approach, encouraging jurisdictions to get drug users into recovery programs, instead of arresting and jailing them. Continue reading...

Policy review of intelligence-sharing with foreign countries risks leaving ‘very serious flaws’, say NGOs and MPsLabour has been accused of rubber-stamping torture policy it criticised while in opposition for enabling UK complicity in serious human rights abuses overseas.The policies regulating British support for foreign security and intelligence services were blamed for facilitating injustices in cases such as those of Jagtar Singh Johal and Ali Kololo, and it was hoped Labour would strengthen them in government. Continue reading...

Palliative care consultant says insufficient consideration given to how disadvantaged communities may be affectedMinisters have not adequately considered how assisted dying would affect disadvantaged communities, a palliative care doctor and clinical academic has said.Bradford-based Jamilla Hussain said the equality impact assessment for the assisted dying bill was “lightweight”, and her own research had highlighted concerns that had not been reflected in the document. Continue reading...

The US, UK and others routinely flout international law. That’s why there’s scant hope for a new tribunal on crimes against UkraineIt’s tempting to hope the establishment last week of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, to give its full name, will lead to the speedy trial and indefinite incarceration of Vladimir Putin and senior Russian leaders. After all, the new court is backed by about 40 countries, including the UK, plus the EU and Council of Europe. And only fools like Donald Trump are confused about who the aggressor is in this conflict.Sadly, this appealing notion has scant basis in reality. Ducking peace talks and dodging responsibility for the war h..

Journalists, fans of Combs, podcasters and others lined up to get into court, where Cassie testified about alleged rape The high-profile federal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs began this week in New York, where the 55-year-old music mogul faces charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution.Combs, who was arrested in September 2024, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Continue reading...

International criminal court confirms move after latest news reports about details of alleged sexual misconduct The chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, Karim Khan, will take a leave of absence until an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct reaches a conclusion, the court has confirmed.Staff in the ICC’s prosecution division were told on Friday that Khan would temporarily step aside until an external investigation examining the allegations against him was completed and court authorities could consider its findings. Continue reading...

About 150 changes have been made to the bill since MPs voted on it last year. This live blog is closedRantzen urges MPs to back assisted dying voteOne of the amendments to the bill being debated today has been tabled by the Labour MP Naz Shah, who voted against the bill at second reading. Her amendment 14 would tighten the bill so that anyone not terminally ill cannot qualify as terminally ill (meaning they can use assisted dying) “by voluntarily stopping eating or drinking or both”.In her speech Leadbeater said that she could understand the concerns behind Shah’s amendment, but that she thought the risk of anyone being able to qualify for assisted dying as a result of anorexia was “..

Kerri Pegg, ex-governor of HMP Kirkham, is latest in series of convictions of corrupt staff amid Prison Service crisisAs the former prison governor Kerri Pegg begins a stretch behind bars, marking the spectacular fall from grace of a woman once seen as a “rising star” within the service, she becomes the latest in an increasing number of corrupt staff experiencing the other side of a jail cell.On Friday, Pegg, 42, was given a nine-year jail sentence for misconduct in a public office, after she entered into an inappropriate relationship with one of her prisoners, a convicted drugs boss. Continue reading...

Jails in England and Wales are in overcrowded meltdown, but justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has a rare chance to flip the script. She shouldWhat should become of the two idiots who took a chainsaw to the beloved Sycamore Gap tree? Obviously it was thuggish, a pointless desecration of something that gave countless people joy, judging by the outpouring of unexpectedly deep emotion that followed. Landscapes work their way into the soul. But so does the thought of two children whose father is about to be jailed for what the judge warned would be a “lengthy period”. Though a line obviously has to be drawn, is this really the best way we can think of to punish a heartless act that nonetheles..

Letters sent by broadcaster and MPs with medical backgrounds call for action to change lawEsther Rantzen has urged all MPs to back Kim Leadbeater’s “strong, safe, carefully considered bill” to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, which faces its next Commons test on Friday.In an impassioned letter, the broadcaster, who has stage-four lung cancer, said she and other terminally ill adults asked MPs to allow “a good, pain-free death for ourselves and those we love and care for”. Continue reading...

What governments do is mostly forgotten, but freeing people from the threat of a painful death would be a great liberalising moment in British history“Assisted dying bill at risk of collapse”, gloats the Telegraph today, echoed by the Times. Not so, says Kim Leadbeater and her campaigners. Some so-called switchers who abstained last time were always known as opponents. MPs who gave her bill a 55 majority on the first vote are standing firm, she says, as the debate returns to parliament on Friday.It’s a well worn tactic to pretend the tide is moving your way to sway any nervous MPs in wobbly seats. They should note the hefty majority of voters supporting the right to die for decades. Br..

Scammers’ souls | Peter Sullivan | ‘The enemy within’ | Strangers to whom? | State ownership of newspapersYears ago I decided to interrupt cold callers (Letters, 11 May) and say: “Just a minute. Let us pray. O heavenly Father, who sees into our hearts. You will know when we are involved in an activity whereby we are trying to dupe an elderly lady out of all of her savings. In the light of this, I know that when I die I will be condemned to hell for an eternity. Amen.” I would then quietly put down the receiver. (One repeated “Amen” after me.) It has worked. I no longer get cold calls.Lesley MatthewsShipley, West Yorkshire• The story of the miscarriage of justice that wro..

We conclude that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, including mass killing, arbitrary detention and torture, meets the legal threshold for the termWe are university professors and human rights advocates who teach and write about Palestine and Israel. We have collectively taught thousands of classes on human rights law, international law and government repression. We have defended death row prisoners in Malawi, documented forced labor in Brazil, helped women seeking gender equality in Burma, chronicled the struggle of the Sahrawi people for self-determination in Western Sahara, and advocated on behalf of families of disappeared immigrants in the United States. As human rights defenders, ou..

MP hits back after Royal College of Psychiatrists refuses to support bill in its current form before Commons voteKim Leadbeater has hit back at criticism from the Royal College of Psychiatrists over the assisted dying bill and said there had been no drop-off in support for it among MPs before a vote on Friday.The Labour MP said it was “misleading” to say RCPsych had pulled its support and that there were enough psychiatrists who backed the change to mean “it wouldn’t be an issue to get psychiatrists to engage” in the process.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the Na..

Many people have decided a trip to the US isn’t worth the risk after recent border detentions. But if you are going, what do you need to know? Immigration lawyers explain it allKindness doesn’t cost a thing. Putting up a big “no foreigners welcome” sign, threatening to annex your neighbour, and throwing visitors to your country into detention for minor visa infractions, however? Such actions are expensive. The United States is on track to lose $12.5bn (£9.4bn) in international travel spending this year, according to a study published on Tuesday by the World Travel and Tourism Council.If the Trump administration is concerned that its aggressive rhetoric is costing tourist dollars, it..

Document issued by Edward I in 1300 was bought by law school library for just $27 in 1946A Magna Carta wrongly listed as an unofficial copy for nearly 80 years has been confirmed as an original from 1300.The discovery means the document is just one of seven issued in 1300 by Edward I that still survive. Continue reading...

The trial of Nicola Packer shows why MPs should seize the opportunity to change the law and safeguard vulnerable women nowThe Crown Prosecution Service has yet to explain why it thought that pursuing a case against Nicola Packer was in the public interest. Thankfully, jurors last week cleared the 45-year-old of illegally terminating her pregnancy. But more than four years of police and criminal proceedings have had a lasting impact on a woman already traumatised by discovering that she was 26 weeks pregnant, not about 10, when she acted. The trial dragged her private life – even her sexual preferences – into the public eye. Understandably, she called it “humiliating”. But it is prose..

Two men convicted of cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree should face a punishment that fits the crime, not jail, writes Dr Rod Earle. Plus letters from Matt Powell, Shayne Mary Mitchell and Michael Fort As a social worker who wrote hundreds of pre-sentence reports before becoming a criminologist, and someone who has been to prison before all of that, I would urge the judge in the case of the two men convicted of felling the Sycamore Gap tree to act creatively and constructively (Two men found guilty of ‘mindless, moronic’ felling of Sycamore Gap tree, 9 May).The UK sends more people to prison, and for longer, than all other European countries. People seem to think that anything other..

Former US supreme court justice nominated by George HW Bush who consistently voted with its liberal wingWhen David H Souter, who has died aged 85, was appointed to the US supreme court by George HW Bush in 1990, it was called a “home run” for conservativism by Bush’s chief of staff John Sununu, who, as governor of New Hampshire had appointed Souter to the state’s supreme court. But it would turn into an appointment whose impact outweighed the appointee’s important judicial contributions.Bush had previously considered a number of conservative ideologues: Senator Orrin Hatch, future Bill Clinton nemesis Kenneth Starr and Clarence Thomas (whose nomination was widely assumed to be held..

Exclusive: Six-week deliberation asked for by Commons committee expected to be granted after internal backlashThe UK’s equality watchdog is expected to give in to demands that it allow more time to consider its formal guidance on the supreme court ruling about gender issues, after what sources say has been a big backlash from staff and stakeholders.Some insiders believe the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) may be forced into a U-turn on its initial response, which was criticised as overly literal in defining how organisations should respond to the court decision that “woman” in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman. Continue reading...

College says it is neutral on assisted dying, but ‘many, many factors’ need addressing in proposal for England and WalesThe Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) has voiced its opposition to the assisted dying bill in England and Wales over “many, many factors”.The college says it is neutral on the principle of assisted dying but it has listed nine substantial reasons it cannot back the bill – which returns to parliament on Friday – in its current form. Continue reading...

Chris Henley says he expects more wrongful convictions to come to light after 1987 murder case ruling overturnedA lawyer who led a review into the Criminal Cases Review Commission’s work has said it is “absolutely inevitable” there will be more miscarriages of justice after Peter Sullivan was released from prison after spending 38 years inside for a murder he did not commit.Sullivan was convicted in 1987 of the murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall, who was killed as she left work in Bebington, Merseyside. The court of appeal quashed Sullivan’s murder conviction on Tuesday after new evidence showed his DNA was not present in samples preserved from the scene. Continue reading...

Proponents say the measures being debated in parliament will apply only to people who are on their deathbeds. That isn’t trueYou’ve been deceived by the campaign for assisted dying. It has told you who the proposed law is for: people on their metaphorical deathbeds, no hope in sight, desperate to spare themselves and their loved ones the experience of an agonising death. And no wonder – these cases obviously merit sympathy and concern. These are the people campaigners want to talk about; this is the narrative that pushes people into unquestioning support for their cause.But what of the people the law would include who they don’t want you to consider? Proponents keep saying that the b..

Offenders in England and Wales to have sentences cut for good behaviour and completion of work, training or education tasksPrisoners will be able to earn their freedom after serving a third of their sentences under new minimum and maximum sentence plans released by the government to tackle the overcrowding in jails.Offenders in England and Wales will be able to earn early release if they complete work, training or education assignments and demonstrate good behaviour. Continue reading...

Labour’s Tonia Antoniazzi tables amendment seeking to remove women from ‘criminal law related to abortion’An amendment proposing to decriminalise abortion has been tabled in parliament, backed by a group of more than 50 cross-party MPs.Put forward by the MP Tonia Antoniazzi, it is supported by several of her Labour colleagues including Nadia Whittome, Jess Asato and Antonia Bance. Continue reading...

Bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill adults will now go forward to parliamentary committeeThe Scottish parliament has voted to consider a bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people for the first time, after a prolonged debate by MSPs.Holyrood decided by 70 votes to 56 to back the bill, in a free vote that followed months of pre-legislative scrutiny by a cross-party committee and comes days before MPs at Westminster vote on passing similar legislation for England and Wales. Continue reading...

Hearing told that DNA evidence found at the scene of Diane Sindall’s murder was not that of the 68-year-oldA 68-year-old man who has spent 38 years in jail has had his murder conviction quashed at the court of appeal in what is thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history.Peter Sullivan was wrongly convicted in 1987 for the frenzied murder of a florist and part-time pub worker, Diane Sindall, 21, who was killed as she left work in Bebington, Merseyside. Continue reading...