Whole life term imposed for murderer of April Jones

Crown Court - Mold

Mark Bridger (47), is to serve a 'whole life term' for the murder of April Jones - The Guardian 30th May 2013.  April disappeared in October 2012 and her body has not been found - BBC 31st May.   It was revealed during the trial that fragments of bone consistent with a juvenile human skull were found among ashes in a woodburner, along with April's blood near to a number of knives, including one which was badly burned.

The sentencing remarks of  Griffith Williams J are available via the Judiciary website.  The judge described Bridger as a 'pathological and glib liar' - a 'paedophile who harboured sexual and morbid fantasies about young girls'.  Bridger's laptop stored images of 'foul pornography of the gross sexual abuse of young children.'

Factors for determining the minimum term are

Police Arrest and Police Bail - should there be a time limit?

Updated

Neil Wallis, writing in The Guardian 28th May, points out that it is not unusual for individuals to be on police bail for months before they are either charged or the investigation is discontinued.  Wallis says that some 3000 families are currently affected by this.   Such bail may well be on restrictive conditions  In fact, this situation has existed for some time and this post looks at police powers of arrest and the power of the police to issue bail.  The Law Society is calling for a 28 day limit on police bail after which the police would have to justify further restrictions to a court - Law Society 29th May

Powers of arrest:

The previous post considered arrest by citizens.  It is unsurprising that Police powers are much wider in scope.

Police powers

Citizen's Arrest - a limited power

On Tuesday 28th May, The Independent reported that 'the creator of a far right extremist group' had 'promised to ‘arrest’ Islamist cleric Anjem Choudary by 6pm tomorrow if the Met police do not.'

Who is Anjem Choudary and just what is a 'citizen's arrest?'

Soldier Lee Rigby was brutally killed in Woolwich on 22nd May.   Certain individuals are under arrest and consequently the case should not be discussed further.  Anjem Choudary, described as a 'Radical Islamist preacher' appeared on BBC Television and said he was shocked by the murder but did not condemn it.  Choudary maintained a line that the killing was linked to British and U.S. foreign policy.  Feelings were running high in the aftermath of the killing and the BBC came in for some vociferous criticism for allowing Choudary to state his views on TV - see, for example,The Guardian.   Some politicians demanded that the Police act against Choudary perhaps for 'stirring up' hatred on religious grounds - The Sun 26th May.

In English law, arrest is

Privatisation of the courts?

One of the key prerogatives of the Crown is the right to dispense justice.  We have the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand.  Our judges and magistrates sit under the Royal Arms signifying that they dispense justice according to law on behalf of the Crown.  In Magna Carta it was asserted that - 'We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.'  Little else of that great feudal charter remains but those famous words - a part of the birthright of the British citizen - have resonated down the centuries and, I hope, still remain a fundamental element in the compact between the people and those who govern.  Increasingly, in these modern times with huge economic challenges, it seems that the desire for commercialism is pushing aside such old constitutional principles. 

The previous post 'Money, money, money ...' referred to a report in

Money, money, money ... just where is justice heading?

Chris Grayling MP - Sec. of State for Justice

The famous group ABBA sang "Money money money" and money seems to be all that HM Government is concerned with rather than trying to make sensible attempts to bear down on costs without destroying services in the process .   People might well be forgiven for thinking that the Ministry of Justice 'Knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.'

Since 1st April, civil legal aid has been slashed under Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.  Many areas of great importance were removed altogether from the scope of legal aid.  The full impact of these cuts on access to justice for individuals and families remains to be evaluated.

Legal aid in criminal cases - already curtailed to a considerable extent in recent years - is now under attack and

The aftermath of the Iraq War - the continuing story

On 23rd November 2011 this blog looked at The unfolding aftermath of the Iraq War and considered the decision of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in R (Ali Zaki Mousa) v Secretary of State for Defence [2011] EWCA Civ 1334 where the court (Maurice Kay, Sullivan and Pitchford LJJ) held that an investigatory process into allegations of ill-treatment committed by British armed forces personnel did not meet the requirements of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as interpreted and applied by the European Court of Human Rights.  The investigatory process had been set up by the Secretary of State for Defence and involved an Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) reporting to the Iraq Historic Allegations Panel (IHAP).

The Administrative Court has now handed down judgment in R (Ali Zaka Mousa) v Secretary of State for Defence [2013] EWHC 1412 (Admin) - Sir John Thomas President of the Queen's Bench Division and Silber J.  It is a

Tweeters beware ~ a defamatory tweet ~ Lord McAlpine v Sally Bercow

Former Conservative Party Chairman Lord McAlpine of West Green brought a libel action against Mrs Sally Bercow - wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons.

On 2nd November 2012, BBC Newsnight carried a story relating to child abuse at Bryn Estyn care home in the 1970s and 80s.  A person perpetrating that abuse was described as a 'leading Conservative from the time.'    Sally Bercow tweeted - "Why is Lord McAlpine trending? *Innocent face*" 

As a preliminary issue, Tugendhat J had to rule whether this 'tweet' was capable of bearing a defamatory meaning.  His ruling is is at Lord McAlpine of West Green v Sally Bercow [2013] EWHC 1342 (QB).   It was necessary to assess the 'tweet' as it might have been understood at the time it was written as opposed to how it might look with the benefit of hindsight.

Tugendhat J said -