United Kingdom

A legal petition to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson forcing through a no-deal Brexit by suspending Parliament has been granted permission to proceed. Given the urgency of the situation, an initial hearing to determine further procedure is due to be held at the Court of Session in Edinburgh to

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled plans to "overhaul the criminal justice system" in England and Wales by reviewing sentencing policy, investing £2.5 billion in the construction of new prisons, and strengthening police stop-and-search powers. A review team reporting back to Mr Johnson

Soaring immigration fees have led to accusations of profiteering against the Home Office, which made £500 million last year. Analysis by The Times shows that fees charged to hundreds of thousands of people for British residency and citizenship have increased sharply over the past five years, w

A decision by South Wales Police to equip officers with mobile facial recognition technology, via an app, has been condemned by human rights group Liberty. The force’s new use of technology comes while the case against their use of facial recognition, brought by Liberty client Ed Bridges, is y

Police should stop calling complainants "victims" in relation to sex offence allegations as it creates a presumption they are telling the truth, a former High Court judge has told The Times. Sir Richard Henriques, who authored a report for Scotland Yard into the failings of the VIP child abuse inves

In a further sign that low interest rates are the new normal, Virgin Money has launched a new range of long term fixed rate residential and buy-to-let products, offering borrowers interest rate certainty for up to 15 years. The new products will include overpayments of up to 10 per cent per annum wi

More than 30 organisations working with migrants and refugees have written to the new Home Secretary, Priti Patel, to raise a number of pressing issues "which require action if the immigration and asylum system is to regain the trust of the public". The letter, whose signatories include representati

Human rights NGO Reprieve has intervened in a UK Supreme Court case arguing that the Home Secretary is putting British lives around the globe at risk by refusing to seek death penalty assurances from the US for two men currently held in Syria. Maha Elgizouli V Secretary of State for the Home Departm

Liberty has lost a High Court challenge against the UK's surveillance laws, saying that the ruling allowed the government “to spy on every one of us”. The rights group had challenged parts of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA), known to its critics as the "snoopers' charter", a

A council tenant has been evicted and ordered to pay more than £100,000 for illegally subletting his council flat in London as a holiday home through Airbnb. Westminster City Council took legal action against Toby Harman, 37, after it was found that the property on Vauxhall Bridge Road had bee

The impact of savage cuts in civil legal aid since 2012 has been so devastating that the UK’s most senior judge yesterday felt it necessary to broadcast an appeal for a legal charity. “I know how intimidating the civil and family courts can be for people without legal knowledge of help,&

Ofcom has fined the news channel RT £200,000 for serious failures to comply with its broadcasting rules – and required the channel to broadcast a summary of its findings to viewers. The regulator has rules in place requiring broadcast news to be presented with due impartiality and its in

Her Majesty The Queen has approved the appointment of Lord Reed as the next president of the UK Supreme Court. Lord Reed will succeed Baroness Hale of Richmond as president, alongside three additional appointments as justices.

The House of Lords EU justice sub-committee has appointed former barrister and attorney general Lord Morris of Aberavon QC as its new chairman.

New legislation aims to tackle the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), also known as confidentiality clauses, in the workplace – including those being used to cover up sexual harassment, racial discrimination and assault. NDAs can be used by businesses for a number of legitimate reason