News
Disqualified Directors
Recently, three men from Halifax were convicted after one of them was found to have run a company whilst disqualified. The other two were convicted of assisting him. If you’re thinking of trying to evade a director’s ban, be aware that it can lead to a criminal conviction and even prison. Why was he disqualified? Andrew Brian had voluntarily accepted a disqualification in 2009...Read More
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Why hasn’t Michael Gove been arrested?
Why hasn’t Michael Gove been arrested? A question on many people’s lips since the former Justice Secretary admitted to using cocaine several times earlier in his career. So, could he face the legal consequences of this? Cocaine is a Class A drug, the most serious category. Drug offences are governed by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and whilst buying a controlled drug in this scenario is not an...Read More
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Prison and prisoners’ families
Prison is supposed to be a punishment. But it’s also designed to help people address their behaviour and stop them re-offending. When imprisonment leads to more offending, it isn’t working. The specific problems faced by women have been highlighted recently by the Farmer Review for Women. Lord Farmer hopes to improve women’s experience within the criminal justice system with the aim of...Read More
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Prosecuting Sexual Offences – Time for a rethink?
Justice, the renowned human rights organisation, has published a significant report that examines the prosecution of sexual offences, and in some areas calls for a radical overhaul. Among the authors of the report is Judge Peter Rook QC, considered an expert authority on this area of law. He is a senior Judge at the Central Criminal Court (‘Old Bailey’). Preventing and reducing...Read More
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Sally Challen – An Issue of Coercive Control
In February 2019 the Court of Appeal quashed Sally Challen’s conviction for the murder of her husband and ordered a retrial. Last week the prosecution accepted a plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter and Challen received a sentence that meant she would serve no further time in custody. Why was the appeal allowed? Challen advanced two grounds of appeal: The fresh evidence on...Read More
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Finn’s Law – What It Means for Animal Welfare
With much fanfare, ‘Finn’s Law’ came in to force on 8th June 2019, following the implementation of the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act 2019. The 2019 Act makes a straightforward amendment to section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. What was the problem? Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act creates the criminal offence of ‘unnecessary suffering’ in relation to animals. There is however a...Read More
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Driving Bans – Not Just for Traffic Offences
Most people know that driving bans may follow for serious road traffic offences or a series of lower-level traffic crimes as a result of ‘totting up’. Few of our clients know that disqualifications can follow in other cases. For example, using a vehicle to facilitate the commission of an offence. What is the relevant law? There are two relevant provisions in the Powers of Criminal...Read More
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Private Prosecutions – ‘Doing a Boris’
A District Judge sitting at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week authorised that a summons be issued against the prominent Conservative member of parliament, Boris Johnson. The allegations relate to alleged conduct during the Brexit referendum campaign and in particular the £350m per week for the NHS slogan that adorned the side of campaign buses. Johnson has applied for a judicial...Read More
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Tough New Weapons Laws Hit the Statute Book
On 16th May 2019 the controversial Offensive Weapons bill received Royal Assent, bringing into law the Offensive Weapons Act 2019. Why was this law passed? This legislation is designed to deal with the current problems in relation to knife crime and other serious offending involving weapons, including acid attacks. Whether it will be successful in doing that does, of course, remain to be seen....Read More
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Sentencing – Breaking the Code
Few people would disagree with the suggestion that sentencing law in England and Wales is a complete mess. The provisions that govern how a defendant is to be sentenced are both complex and disparate. They are also found across a significant number of statutes. Why does this matter? Research has shown that thousands of sentencing errors are made each year, with many going completely...Read More
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