BBC Plans to overhaul the “failure” of the prison system in England and Wales are to be set out by the prime minister. David Cameron will say high reoffending rates and violence in jails are “scandalous”. A pilot scheme will see six governors given autonomy over how prisons spend their budgets and which education services…
The Independent Prison is probably the single biggest indictment of state failure yet we are still waiting for the “rehabilitation revolution” promised when the Tories took power in 2010 For many years ministers privately complained that even the most carefully chosen chief inspector of prisons rapidly went “native”, undermining their tough stances by bleating on about…
BBC Funding cuts to the Crown Prosecution Service could lead to miscarriages of justice, a senior barrister has warned. Jonathan Elystan Rees said a lack of resources and lawyers in court as a result of less funding was making it difficult for staff to do their jobs. His criticism comes after the CPS was blamed…
The Guardian Centre for Policy Studies says large rises are restricting access to justice Lord Neuberger, the president of the supreme court, blamed excessive reliance on hourly rates among City firms for inflating legal fees and promoting inefficiency. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian Partners at top City law firms are charging clients more than…
The Law Gazette Lawyers sitting up for the count in the 2020 general election will be spared the ritual of explaining why it is always the acting returning officer who announces the number of votes cast, if proposals published by the Law Commission today become reality. In a wide-ranging call for rationalisation of electoral law,…
The Law Gazette The High Court has rejected a professional negligence claim from an injured pedestrian who felt her legal team had under-settled her case. The Honourable Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing (pictured) said Yorkshire firm W Brook and Co, and the instructed barrister named as Mr Crossley, did not breach their professional duties in advising…
The Independent Judge Wendy Joseph QC says schools and policymakers should do more to make judiciary more diverse Schools and policymakers have a responsibility to address the lack of diversity in the judiciary to better reflect society as a whole, a top judge has said. The UK’s “white, middle-class, middle-aged, male” courtrooms do not represent the…
The Law Gazette Conveyancers risk becoming a police force as part of unintended consequences of the government’s higher stamp duty rates, a trade body has warned. In last year’s autumn statement and spending review, the government announced higher rates of stamp duty land tax on the purchase of additional residential properties as part of a…
The Law Gazette Further details have emerged about the demise of London-headquartered firm Blavo & Co Solicitors, which was shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in October. Mr Justice Garnham continued a freezing order against the firm’s former managing director John Blavo in a High Court judgment handed down on 28 January. A freezing…
The Law Gazette Defendant lawyers say they will put forward an ‘independent and principled’ stance on personal injury reforms that will differ from the one taken by insurers. The Forum of Insurance Lawyers has said it opposes moves to increase the small claims limit to £5,000 for personal injury and to remove general damages for…
