Palestine Action - Home Secretary to present DRAFT proscription order to Parliament

With additions 1 July 2025, 2 July 2025, 5 July 2025, 7 July 2025

Draft Proscription Order

Palestine Action is a 'movement' which, according to its website (at 24 June 2025), seeks to 'Shut Down Israel's Arms Trade in Britain.' The website states - 'Palestine Action is a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime. Using disruptive tactics, Palestine Action targets corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex and seeks to make it impossible for these companies to profit from the oppression of Palestinians.'

The Home Secretary - Yvette Cooper MP - has decided to proscribe the organisation  under powers in the Terrorism Act 2000 section 3.

This news appeared in

Assisted Dying is NOT law ..... yet .....

The Guardian published an article - Assisted dying set to become law in England and Wales after MPs pass bill (20 June 2025). 

In fact, it is NOT yet set to become law but the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has passed its Third Reading in the House of Commons by 23 votes. 

The Bill now goes to the House of Lords and, as a matter of basic constitutional law, it must pass all its stages there. This is subject to the Parliament Acts 1911-49 which enable the consent of the Lords to be dispensed with but only if the process specified in those Acts is followed.

When a Bill has been passed by both Houses of Parliament

European Convention on Human Rights - The future ?

Letter to Council of Europe from 9 countries - Denmark, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland. (The order in which the signatures to the letter appear).

Speech (18 June 2025) at the Council of Europe by Shabana Mahmood (Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor) - indicating that the UK may legislate about interpretation of certain convention rights

According to Mahmood ' ... across Europe, public confidence in the rule of law is fraying ...'

'There

Government response to Baroness Casey's Report + A note on Recommendation 3

The government response to Baroness Casey's report on Group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse has been published and may be read HERE.

The |Manchester Evening News published - What the national grooming gang inquiry means for Oldham's local investigation -  local inquiry into child exploitation in Oldham may have to be paused as the government and council work out how to ‘avoid duplication’ with a newly-announced national investigation .....

Recommendation 3 is a requirement

Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse - an early note on Baroness Casey's report

The report, by Baroness Casey, of the National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse has been published (197 pages).

The Home Secretary made a statement to the House of Commons - Hansard 16 June 2025

Baroness Casey gave evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on 17 June 2025 - see HERE.

Previous post 15 June 2025 - Child Sexual Abuse - Starmer decides to set up  inquiry

12 recommendations

Casey made 12 recommendations and

(1) Journalism and an unlawful search - (2) UN Human Rights Committee concern over UK use of terrorism legislation - (3) ICC and ICJ

Asa Winstanley is an investigative journalist with a particular interest in Palestine and Israeli action in that region.  

On 17 October 2024, the Metropolitan Police seized his "electronic devices" as part of an investigation into suspected terrorism offences - report at Middle East Eye 18 October 2024.

As reported by Law Firm Bindmans, the Recorder of London (HHJ Mark Lucraft KC) found that search warrants, applied for by the police under section 8 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, were “unlawfully issued.” 

Winstanley’s legal team argued successfully that the seized devices contained legally privileged material from his work on the Undercover Policing Inquiry and sensitive journalistic data. 

Child Sexual Abuse - Starmer decides to set up Inquiry

The Prime Minister has announced that there will be a statutory inquiry (Inquiries Act 2005) into sexual grooming gangs - Reuters 14 June 2025.

In mid January 2025, the Home Secretary (Yvette Cooper MP) asked Baroness Louise Casey to undertake an urgent national review into the scale and nature of gang-based sexual exploitation in Britain - The Guardian 16 January 2025.

Casey's report has yet to be published but the Prime Minister said that he has read every word in it and has accepted a recommendation that an inquiry be held.

Details of the inquiry have yet to be announced and the announcement will be generally welcomed.

Statutory Inquires

Government Spending Review - What will "Justice" receive?

On 11 June 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer informed the House of Commons of the outcome of the government's spending review (SR).

What was in the review for "Justice" ?  

The government has published some detail which may be seen at  - Spending Review Documents 

The key points are:

Two Reports (1) Forensic Science, (2) Miscarriages of Justice

The Westminster Commission on Forensic Science has produced a report dated 9 June 2025 - 

Forensic Science in England and Wales: Pulling out of the Graveyard Spiral

Read the report in full online here.

The Justice Gap article 9 June 2025 

Previous post - 1 May 2019 - Forensic Science in Crisis   

A further report addresses problems with the Criminal Cases Review Commission - 

In the Interests of Justice. The report is available in full here. 

Previous post - 23 May 2025 - Leadership of the CCRC

 

RUSI Annual Security Lecture delivered by the Attorney General

Update 20 June 2025 - see Joshua Rozenberg's post on the Royal Holloway, (University of London) Magna Carta Lecture 2025 delivered by former Attorney General Victoria Prentis KC - Web of Accountability.  Prentis was Attorney General from 25 October 2022 until 5 July 2024. 

On 29 May 2025, the Attorney General (Lord Hermer KC) delivered the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Annual Security Lecture, reinforcing the government's commitment to international law.  

The government has published the text of Hermer's speech but has done so with redactions in several places to "remove political content"  

 The published text is HERE. 

Hermer said that the Labour government rejects “the siren song, that can sadly, now be heard in the Palace of Westminster, and in some spectrums of the media, that Britain abandons the constraints of international law in favour of raw power.”

"This is not a new song," said Hermer who then referred