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Statues, Protest & Human Rights

Statues, Protest & Human Rights. On 5th January 2022 at the Crown Court sitting at Bristol, four defendants were found not guilty of criminal damage even though they had readily admitted to removing a statue (of Edward Colston) from its plinth and tipping it into the harbour. Following the acquittals, the Attorney General referred a point […]

Police powers: Strip searching

Police powers: Strip searching. As part of a standard stop and search, police officers can require those being searched to remove an outer coat, jacket, or gloves. Officers also have legal powers to require individuals to remove more clothing. This is commonly referred to as “strip-searching”. Strip searches are recognised as a highly intrusive interaction with […]

Confiscation and Proportionality

Confiscation and Proportionality. Confiscation remains one of the most challenging areas of criminal law, confusing not only clients but also many lawyers with insufficient expertise in this area. In a recent case, the Supreme Court considered the situation where a person lies to secure a job but goes on to perform excellently in that role. […]

The Ryan Giggs Trial

The Ryan Giggs Trial. Former footballer Ryan Giggs is on trial for a number of offences including “using controlling and coercive behaviour”. We of course would never comment on an ongoing trial, but in this article, we explore further the elements of this offence. So, what is the offence? Controlling or coercive behaviour does not relate […]

New Hunting Offences

New Hunting Offences. Sections 63 and 64 of The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 came in to force on 1st August 2022. It created two new offences of trespass with intent to pursue hares (s.63 PCSCA 2022) and being equipped to search for or pursue hares (s.64 PCSCA 2022). The s 63 offence (Trespass […]

Mercy Killings

Mercy Killings. A man who slit his wife’s throat “in an act of love” and tried to kill himself has been found not guilty of murder after a jury accepted the couple had made a suicide pact. Graham Mansfield, 73, from Hale in Greater Manchester, was given a suspended sentence of two years after being […]

Creating an Offence of Public Sexual Harassment

Creating an offence of public sexual harassment. Ministers undertook that by Parliament’s 2022 summer recess the government would launch a consultation on whether a specific offence for public sexual harassment (sexual harassment in public spaces) should be created. In the nationally representative survey of 2,000 people which formed part of the Call for Evidence, 44% of […]

Self-driving vehicles and the Highway Code

Self-driving vehicles and the Highway Code. From today (1 July) new rules on the use of self-driving vehicles in Great Britain have come into force. The changes are included in a new section in The Highway Code. Currently, only vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems are available in the UK. No vehicles in Great Britain have […]

Public Parole Hearings

Public Parole Hearings. Victims, members of the public and the media will be able to ask for a parole hearing to be heard in public for the first time, following law changes. From 21 July 2022, anyone including prisoners, victims, members of the public or the media will be able to ask the Board to hold […]

The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act

The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act was recently brought into effect very quickly. The haste with which this went through Parliament was due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the massive concern about the origins of funds held by wealthy Russian oligarchs in this country. There have been calls for a crackdown on […]