England

England risks losing out on economic growth and international influence because its crumbling legal system is not prepared for innovations such as cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and green investing, new research warns. The Social Market Foundation said that delays in settling cases in ove

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has obtained an extra £2.2 billion to resolve the backlog of court cases. It had warned the Treasury that the backlog could rise to 72,000 cases – up from the pre-pandemic figure of 41,000 – unless is secured an extra £500 million to expand the N

Officers abusing their position for sexual purposes is now the single largest form of police corruption in England and Wales, a watchdog has said. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the number of people facing disciplinary proceedings for APSP has "risen sharply" in the past three

Plans to offer "automatic online convictions" to people charged with minor offences will lead to "trigger-happy justice", campaigners have said. The UK government's controversial Judicial Review and Courts Bill, which returns to the Commons floor today, will allow for people charged with minor offen

The backlog of cases in the criminal courts in England and Wales is likely to be a pervasive issue for several years, severely affecting all court users, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The pandemic significantly affected the work of the criminal justice system, requiring e

Complainants in England and Wales are waiting more than 600 days for justice after reporting a crime – a rise of more than 50 per cent in the past year. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that in the second quarter of this year, the time between a crime occurring and a case being resolv

Wayne Couzens, the Metropolitan Police firearms officer who falsely arrested, kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard, has been sentenced to a whole life order.

A harrowing incident in which a baby died in Europe's largest women's prison, with the 18-year-old mother giving birth in her cell alone despite repeated calls for help, "should never have happened", a watchdog has said. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) for England and Wales yesterday publi

The number of sole practitioners in England and Wales has declined by nearly a half in the past decade, according to new analysis of Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) data. There were 3,640 sole practitioners in July 2011, making up a third of all solicitors, but the figure has fallen by 47 per

A growing number of offenders who avoid custodial sentences are instead being given informal community orders. Figures published by the Ministry of Justice show that nearly three quarters of out of court disposals consisted of community resolution orders last year, an increase of 56 per cent on 2015

Complaints of sexual harassment by solicitors in England and Wales rose sharply in 2017/18 off the back of the #MeToo movement, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has said. The regulator's Upholding Professional Standards 2017/18 report reveals that it received 70 complaints about sexual hara

Victims of discrimination in England and Wales are being denied their fundamental right to justice and perpetrators are going unchallenged because of failures in the legal aid system, the human rights watchdog has warned. An inquiry into legal aid for victims of discrimination by the Equality and Hu

Criminal barristers have voted by a huge majority for a national walkout in July 1 in protest at paltry fees in an action that will bring the justice system to its knees for a day. The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) ballot results showed that only 139, or 5.1 per cent of respondents, voted against a

MPs have called on the UK Government to regulate bailiffs in England and Wales to ensure people in debt are treated fairly. In a report published today, Westminster's justice committee said the "existing system of individual certification by the courts seems to be a rubber-stamping exercise".

Couples in England and Wales will be able to go through "no-fault" divorces faster under new Government proposals. New legislation representing the biggest overhaul of divorce laws in the jurisdiction in 50 years will be presented to MPs "as soon as parliamentary time allows".