27 May 2025

Political parties are not exercising a public function when choosing leaders - even when they become PM

On 6 September 2022, HM Queen Elizabeth II, appointed Elizabeth Truss as Prime Minister. That was just two days before Her Majesty died at Balmoral. A panoply of events then followed culminating in the magnificent State Funeral held in London on 19 September 2022 - (Events of 8 to 19 September 2022). 

As is well-known, Truss was chosen as Conservative Party leader following the resignation of Boris Johnson. Her tenure in office proved to be just 45 days - BBC 5 July 2024.

The process for choosing the Party leader was determined by the Party itself even though

23 May 2025

Leadership of the CCRC

UPDATED 6 June 2025

Mr Andrew Malkinson spent more than 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, plus a further three under probation supervision before his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2023 - - Malkinson, R. v [2023] EWCA Crim 954 (07 August 2023).  

An inquiry is currently investigating the handling of the case by Greater Manchester Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The inquiry will cover the handling of the case prior to Mr Malkinson’s conviction and his subsequent applications to appeal.   - Andrew Malkinson Inquiry

In January 2025,

22 May 2025

Sentencing Review ~ final report issued

The Sentencing Review led by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke (previous post 15 May 2025) issued a report at 6 am this morning - ahead of a statement in Parliament.

Independent Sentencing Review - Final Report and proposals for reform (pdf pages).

In february, the review issued an earlier report  - History and Trends in Sentencing (18 February 2025).

Annex A to the final report sets out the full terms of reference. 

As the Executive Summary notes -

Parliament - Two Bills on Sentencing Guidelines

A previous post - noted a "difference of view" between the Sentencing Council and the Secretary of State for Justice / Lord Chancellor about when a pre-sentence report is required.   

As a result, two Bills are now before Parliament. One government Bill and one from the Shadow Lord Chancellor.

The situation was explained by the Lord Chancellor (Shabana Mahmood MP) in a Statement to the House of Commons - 1 April 2025

"new guidelines

21 May 2025

Disorder in July - August 2024 - Three reports

Late July - early August 2024 saw widespread unrest and serious disorder disorder following the murders on 29 July 2024 of three young girls in Southport.

Subsequently, three reports have been published. Two by HM Inspectorates and one by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee:

HMICFRS - 18 December 2024 - 'An inspection of the police response to the public disorder in July and August 2024: Tranche 1’ 

and  

HMICFRS - An inspection of the police response to the public disorder in July and August 2024: Tranche 2

House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee - 14 April 2025 - Quick fixes not enough to address Policing lessons of summer 2024 disorder

In January 2025, Axel Radakabana was sentenced for the Southport murders - previous post.

BBC - UK disorder 2024

20 May 2025

Lucy Connolly - Appeal against sentence - Public Order Act 1986 section 19(1)

Lucy Connolly had lost her appeal against a sentence of 31 months imprisonment for posting a tweet on X. The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), in a reserved judgment, held that the sentence was not manifestly excessive. 

The tweet called for mass deportation and setting fire to hotels housing immigrants. Connolly later removed the tweet but, in the meantime, it had attracted 310,000 views and 940 reposts. Connolly had some 9,000 followers.

Judiciary - Lucy Connolly v The King [2025] EWCA Crim 657 - Holroyde JJ, Goss and Sheldon JJ.

Sentencing Guidelines apply to this offence  - Public Order Act 1986 section 19(1). The offence is in Part III of the Act - headed Racial Hatred.

The Sentencing Guidelines are at Sentencing Council - Racial hatred offences ...

In January 2025, Axel Radakabana was sentenced for the Southport murders - previous post. He is a British citizen, born in Cardiff.

15 May 2025

Sentencing Review - a brief note + Prison Reform Trust Citizen's Panel

In 2024, the recently elected Labour government announced a Review of Sentencing - Review of Sentencing (October 2024).  Interestingly, the newly appointed Secretary of State for Justice (Shabana Mahmood MP) appointed the former Conservative Secretary of State for Justice (David Gauke)* to chair the review.

The Review was set up against a background of capacity pressures on the prison system. 

A comprehensive re-evaluation of the sentencing framework was required and  3 principles apply to the review's work -

11 May 2025

The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) - Notes for Students

Numbers at the end of paragraphs refer to the Further material links at the end of this post.

The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) is frequently in the news because of the various high profile cases that it deals with - e.g. Oliver Campbell, Andrew Malkinson, etc. The court is also often criticised as shown by this Justice Gap article on the Oliver Campbell case. Another criticised body is the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) - see, for example, Law and Lawyers 15 January 2025 (Chair of CCRC resigns). The CCRC is empowered to refer criminal cases to the Court of Appeal.

The system of appeals

09 May 2025

The "Rule of Law" - Notes for students

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 section 1 refers to the "Rule of Law" and states that the Act does not adversely affect - (a) the existing constitutional principle of the rule of law, or (b) the Lord Chancellor's existing constitutional role in relation to that principle. 

In R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, Lord Reed said at para 68 - "At the heart of the concept of the rule of law is the idea that society is governed by law." He continued - "Democratic procedures exist primarily in order to ensure that the Parliament which makes those laws includes Members of Parliament who are chosen by the people of this country and are accountable to them. Courts exist in order to ensure that the laws made by Parliament, and the common law created by the courts themselves, are applied and enforced. That role includes ensuring that the executive branch of government carries out its functions in accordance with the law.

05 May 2025

A Codified Constitution? - Notes for Students

Numbers at the end of paragraphs refer to the reading links at the end of this post.

The United Kingdom (UK) does not have a formal (codified) constitution. In the modern world, such constitutions are the norm and numerous examples are easy to find. (1)

This is not to say that the UK lacks a constitution (or constitutional arrangements). The

03 May 2025

Treaties - Notes for Students

Numbers at the end of paragraphs refer to the reading links at the end of this post.

International Law, in general, may be described as "the body of legal rules, norms, and standards that apply between sovereign States and other entities that are legally recognized as international actors."  (1)

A key aspect of international law relates to TREATIES