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20 Aug 2021 Home affairs

Bar Council warns against rising use of 'get out of jail free cards' to avoid courts

05 Jul 2021 Home affairs

Government can help end the scourge of domestic abuse by taking robust action on perpetrators

There are proven methods to change the behaviour of those who commit violent crimes against women. Government must include long-term funding for these strategies in the comprehensive spending review

05 Jul 2021 Home affairs

Smarter sentencing is not harsher sentencing

The Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill will see people convicted of more serious offences spending a lot longer in prison, but there is no evidence to support this. Instead, government should improve education and other rehabilitative opportunities in prisons.

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24 Jun 2021 Home affairs

New figures show court backlog going the wrong way, says Bar Council

22 Jun 2021 Home affairs

MPs Say “Oppressive” Plans To Restrict Disruptive Protests Could Breach Human Rights Laws

MPs have urged the government to introduce explicit statutory protection for protests amid concerns that the upcoming Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill could breach human rights laws.

18 Jun 2021 Home affairs

Labour Accuses Government Of Ignoring Victims After Damning Rape Review

The government’s response to a damning review into falling rape convictions has been criticised as “very small fry and piecemeal” by Labour.

18 Jun 2021 Home affairs

New measures to tackle police corruption must be properly funded

On 10 March 1987, a 37-year-old private detective named Daniel Morgan was found dead in the car park of a south London pub with an axe embedded in his head. No-one has ever been convicted of his murder, despite five separate investigations

09 Jun 2021 Home affairs

Policing Bill should introduce a standalone offence and 12-month prison sentence for abuse against retail workers

2020 saw a spike in abuse, threats, and violence against retail workers. But whilst the Tories shockingly fail to get a grip of the crisis, Labour have a readymade solution to deter offenders, break the cycle of abuse and deliver justice to victims.

25 May 2021 Home affairs

Covid hit our over-stretched courts hard: the current system can not become the new normal

Whilst there are opportunities for new ways of working, there are also difficulties for some cases and some litigants which could affect the delivery of justice.

20 May 2021 Home affairs

Access to justice is central to a fair society. Government must recognise the value of legal aid

Without help to navigate the justice system, many disadvantaged people will be prevented from enforcing their rights.

18 May 2021 Home affairs

Locked up in lockdown: the devastating effect of Covid on the prison population

Confined to their cells for 23 hours a day and curbs places on education and therapy sessions. The pandemic has taken its toll on prisoners and staff, and prompted renewed warnings that many of Britain’s jails are not fit for purpose.

18 May 2021 Coronavirus

Law and disorder: the Secret Judge takes us inside Britain’s overstretched courts during the pandemic

Presiding over tribunal and county court cases somewhere in the south of England the Secret Judge reveals how, via the blessings and burdens of technology, justice has prevailed

17 May 2021 Coronavirus

Ellie Reeves: ‘Victims are being let down and that’s happening on the government’s watch’

The shadow Solicitor General on how the justice system is failing rape survivors, why her passion for politics started at school, and life in a family of MPs

Justice will finally be done for abused animals

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17 May 2021 Home affairs

Justice will finally be done for abused animals

The passing of the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill represents significant progress in the battle against animal cruelty. The law must now be followed up with effective deterrence to ensure justice for all abused animals.

17 May 2021 Coronavirus

Robert Buckland interview: the impossible prisons dilemma

Justice secretary Robert Buckland defends his handling of the Covid pandemic in prisons, explains Nightingale courts are here to stay and has an open mind when it comes to bringing youth custody provision back under state control. Kate Proctor reports.

Why we must turn our attention to the justice emergency

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13 May 2021 Home affairs

Why we must turn our attention to the justice emergency

As the country emerges from a year of lockdowns, the criminal justice system is feeling the strain. We met up with Derek Sweeting QC, Chair of the Bar Council, to find out more about how COVID has impacted on the criminal justice system, and to discuss how justice can build back better.

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11 May 2021 Home affairs

Plans to ‘restore balance of power’ lacking evidence, say barristers

The Bar Council has issued its response to today's Queen's Speech.

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25 Mar 2021 Home affairs

Bar Council urges action over largest Crown Court backlog for six years

The Bar Council has responded to the latest criminal court statistics which suggest the highest level of outstanding cases at the Crown Court since 2014.

25 Mar 2021 Coronavirus

Nobody is protected from coronavirus until everyone is: why we should repeal and replace the Coronavirus Act

This week marks one year since the UK first went into lockdown and MPs voted to give the Government unprecedented and extraordinary powers under the Coronavirus Act. My thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of the 127,000 people who have lost their lives since then.

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19 Mar 2021 Home affairs

Is the current appeal system acting ‘In the Interests of Justice’? – a review of the report of the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice

Suzanne Gower, PhD researcher at The University of Manchester, and former managing director of the legal charity APPEAL shares her thoughts on the long-awaited report of the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice, “In the Interests of Justice”.

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17 Dec 2020 Coronavirus

Today's criminal court backlog statistics show justice system in poor health

Responding to the criminal court statistics quarterly for July to September 2020, which have been published today, Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council, said:

17 Nov 2020 Coronavirus

Covid-19 has revealed fundamental weaknesses in our public services

Public service providers rapidly redesigned their services to meet the unprecedented challenges of Covid, but the public health response was hampered by over-centralised, poorly coordinated and poorly communicated policies.

26 Oct 2020 Home affairs

Tackling the backlog of court cases and speeding up justice must be the priority

There's no reason why a defendant should be deprived of the opportunity for a speedy trial before a judge and two magistrates if he/she wishes.

10 Oct 2020 Coronavirus

The justice system is as fundamental a part of our social services as health and education

We need greater investment in prisons and probation, courts and legal aid if we’re to uphold the rule of law