Seventy years ago, a man with learning difficulties said a four-word phrase (‘Let Him Have It’) and was subsequently sentenced to death. While that conviction for murder was later quashed, Derek Bentley’s hanging could hardly be reversed. His fate remains a grim reminder that under the legal doctrine of joint enterprise, a set of legal […]
Contrary to popular belief, defendants in criminal trials can come from all walks of life. Some people accused of crimes might have grown up in poverty or spent their childhood years rotating around the country’s conveyor belt care system; however, others will have a university degree under their belt and may, though it is rarer […]
‘I am having to deal with chaos,’ the Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland, complained back in September, ‘thanks to a Labour Government passing, with incontinence, Criminal Justice Acts after Criminal Justice Acts.’ Some people might interpret his outburst as meaning there are vastly conflicting visions from different parties for the struggling justice system, […]
I have known Romford’s Member of Parliament, Andrew Rosindell, for countless years, having encountered him at events held in his Essex constituency, which happens to be where I was born and educated. Mr Rosindell, a politician with frontbench and backbench experience, has held a multitude of roles during his political career, including that of Shadow […]
Vasiliki ‘Vicky’ Pryce is a Greek-born British economist, and former Joint Head of the United Kingdom’s Government Economic Service. On 7 March 2013, Pryce and her former husband, Chris Huhne, the then-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, were convicted of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to eight months in prison. Having […]
Keith Fraser, Chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, is somebody I am keen to meet as, despite his Wikipedia page revealing little, I’m familiar with his reputation and description by the country’s media as a ‘top cop’. From the outset of my conversation with him, I can see why he was […]
Earlier this month, a leaked document was published by The Intercept outlining the worries of US agencies that face masks, now commonplace due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could ‘break’ facial recognition. The document, released as part of the BlueLeaks hack, emphasises the possibility of ‘violent adversaries’ using protective masks to evade biometric identification algorithms. To […]
It’s an early summer morning and, as I switch on my laptop, I observe the peaceful environment in which I am seated. The only noise I can hear is a sparrow’s song and the chime of a clock, which serve as a further reminder that it is time for my video call to begin. I’m […]
Sixteen months ago, in this blog, I described a multitude of Brexit-related concerns in an article entitled ‘No One Can Whistle a Symphony’. Since the publication of that article, much has changed: the EU withdrawal agreement has received royal assent, Johnson is Prime Minister, May is a backbencher, and ‘the honourable member for the 18th […]
Policing by consent, which is one of the nine core principles in Sir Robert Peel’s Metropolitan Police Act 1829, means the police’s ability to perform their duties is dependent on public approval of police actions. However, in recent years there has been massive anger towards the police when unarmed civilians have been shot and killed, […]
Elliot Tyler