05 Apr 2024
New public order powers to prevent individuals from causing repeated serious disruption came into force on 5th April 2024. The Government says that: "In recent years, we have seen an increase in protest tactics that are dangerous and cause serious disruption. The Government is committed…
Crime
22 Mar 2024
The government has introduced the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill before Parliament; if passed, the resultant Act will automatically overturn convictions for certain offences linked to the Post Office Horizon scandal. The Post Office Horizon IT scandal has been described as the one of UK…
Crime
22 Mar 2024
A package of six new sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of immigration offences in England and Wales have been published by the independent Sentencing Council following changes in legislation. Under the proposals, judges and magistrates will - for the first time - have dedicated…
Crime
22 Mar 2024
In the case of Attorney General's Reference on a Point of Law No 1 of 2023 [2024] EWCA Crim 243, the Court of Appeal considered the defence of "lawful excuse" in the context of criminal damage committed by protestors. In 2020, a group targeted the premises of a number of organisations…
Crime
08 Mar 2024
The High-Profile & Private Crime Division, led by Partner Craig MacKenzie, secured acquittals for our client following a seven-week trial at Manchester Crown Court. The team instructed Ian McMeeking of Lincoln House Chambers in the case, which involved the supply of drugs across Greater Manchester…
Crime
07 Mar 2024
Measures have been signed into law this week to ban keeping primates as pets. The legislation brings in a licensing scheme setting strict rules to ensure that only private keepers who meet new welfare and licensing standards can keep primates, delivering on a government manifesto commitment and…
Crime
07 Mar 2024
The Spring Budget was delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on the 6th of March 2024 and offered little comfort regarding the criminal justice system. Overall departmental spending is said to rise by 1%, but this is not evenly spread, with protected spending, such as on the NHS, receiving a more…
Crime
01 Mar 2024
The Prison and Young Offender Institution (Adjudication) (Amendment) Rules 2024 come into force on 31 May 2024 and will make a number of important changes in relation to prisoner discipline and punishment. These changes are intended to improve behaviour management in prisons by ensuring serious…
Crime
01 Mar 2024
Pupil non-attendance is a deeply worrying issue and statistics demonstrate that the problem has significantly worsened since the pandemic, with increasing numbers of children seemingly lost to the education system. This is on top of the numbers of children missing selective school days for holidays and…
Crime
21 Feb 2024
Last week Nicholas Hawkes become the first person to be convicted for the new offence of "Cyber Flashing". Hawkes sent unsolicited photos of his erect penis to a 15-year-old girl and a woman. The woman took screenshots of the image on WhatsApp and reported Hawkes to Essex Police the same…
Crime
