Month: November 2014

27.11.14

Plebgate: Judge finds Andrew Mitchell MP called police officers "plebs"

Mr Justice Mitting has ruled that, on the balance of probabilities, the former government chief whip said the following words to PC Rowland: “best you learn your f***ing place…you don’t run this f***ing government … you’re f***ing plebs”.   The decision was made following a seven-day hearing in the High Court in the trial of a preliminary issue in…

Directions for Loss of Time Served: Is the Court of Appeal losing its patience?

A recent decision in the Court of Appeal in R v Wilson [2014] EWCA Crim 2336 would seem to indicate an increasing risk to appellants being made subject to a loss of time direction even when acting on legal advice. The provision was bought in under section 29 Criminal Appeal Act 1968, where the Court…

24.11.14

Landmark trolling case against Google settles on eve of trial

The eagerly anticipated case of Hegglin v Person(s) Unknown and Google Inc has settled the day before it was due to come to trial (24 November 2014).  Mr Hegglin, a former Morgan Stanley banker, had issued proceedings following a sustained campaign of internet abuse against him by an anonymous troll. Thousands of abusive and offensive articles were published by the troll referring…

17.11.14

First imprisonment for revenge porn

21-year-old Luke King is understood to be the first person in the UK to be imprisoned for an offence relating to ‘revenge porn’.  Mr King was prosecuted under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 for continuously threatening and then subsequently posting explicit photographs of his ex-partner on the popular messaging app, ‘WhatsApp’.   Mr King was…

12.11.14

Defendant spared immediate custodial sentence despite repeated breaches of harassment injunctions

In ABC v DEF [2014] EWHC 3346 (QB), the Claimant applied for committal of the Defendant to prison for contempt of court.  The Claimant lives in London with his wife and children.  The Defendant was his brother-in-law, who had lived in the United States for many years.  The Claimant had provided financial support to the Defendant…

5.11.14

Brett Wilson LLP civil fraud solicitors discuss a case where an innocent wife was unable to defeat claim for civil recovery order

In National Crime Agency v Azam (No 2) [2014] EWHC 3573 the High Court heard a defence to a claim for a civil recovery order over property in which the legal title was vested in Second Respondent – the ex-wife of the First Respondent against whom the Court at an earlier hearing had ruled such property…