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Brett Wilson Criminal and Regulatory Law Blog

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11.02.25

A bit of banter, or alarming and distressing harassment?

Harassment has always been an offence of fact and degree.  Behaviour that in one context might be a joke between friends, can, in another context, form part of a course of conduct that amounts to harassment. Never has this been more aptly demonstrated than in a recent criminal case, in which Rhiannon Evans, a 25…

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10.02.25

‘Reasonable chastisement’ defence – are changes afoot?

The defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ whereby parents/caregivers may argue that physical punishment of a child was justified is no longer available in Scotland (since 2020) and Wales (since 2022).  Pressure is mounting on the government to abolish the defence in England. In October 2024 the Children’s Commissioner, Rachel de Souza issued a statement calling for…

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5.02.25

Is there a misconduct threshold in regulatory proceedings?

The recent case of Dr Sarah Benn v The General Medical Council [2025] EWHC 87 (Admin)  provides some helpful guidance on what amounts to ‘misconduct’ in proceedings for determining impairment within the meaning of section 35C of the Medical Act 1983. The facts Dr Benn was a retired general practitioner and was until 2019 a…

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7.01.25

Why Tommy Robinson is in prison

As Nigel Farage pointed out last week, far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known to the public as Tommy Robinson, has been in prison several times for several different reasons.  He has a string of convictions for fraud, public order and drug offences, as well as contempt of court.  Whilst Elon Musk might have millions believe…

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27.12.24

The importance of scrutinising the wording of charges in motoring offences

As 2024 draws to an end, prosecutors and defence lawyers alike remind themselves of the seminal case Brewer v DPP [2004] EWHC 355 (Admin), where the judgment handed down exactly 20 years ago remains a stark warning as to the importance of scrutinising the wording of charges carefully. In this case, the defendant was charged…

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Motoring offences and ‘Special Reasons’: Guilty of an offence, but driving licence left unblemished

For some defendants convicted of driving offences, the law recognises that their driving licences should not be endorsed. For example, if a ‘Special Reason’ is established in a case involving an offence which normally carries an obligatory disqualification, the Court will exercise its discretion not to impose a period of disqualification. Similarly, for offences which…

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24.12.24

Andrew and Tristan Tate: Brothers made the subject of Account Forfeiture Orders

In a detailed first instance judgment dated 18 December 2024, District Judge Paul Goldspring made account forfeiture orders in connection with six bank accounts owned or controlled by the brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate. The Tate brothers did not provide any evidence to response to the applications with were made by Devon and Cornwall Police….

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19.12.24

Review of Criminal Courts

Last week, the Lord Chancellor announced a review of criminal courts to be led by Sir Brian Leveson. This is following new statistics showing that the crown court backlog has reached a record high; the Ministry of Justice figures showed that the number of criminal cases waiting to be dealt with by crown courts in…

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17.12.24

Confiscation and civil recovery of the same assets – is there an abuse of process?

In the recent case of the DPP v Bijou [2024] EWHC 2997 the Administrative Court had to wrestle with the interplay between confiscation and civil asset recovery in the context of an application to vary a Property Freezing Order (‘PFO’). That application was made after a PFO had been granted over assets which had already…

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16.12.24

Law on voyeurism clarified

In the recent case of R v Norkus [2024] EWCA Crim 1169, the Court of Appeal clarified what could and could not constitute a criminal offence in respect of voyeurism. The facts The complainant worked at a post office and shop which the Appellant managed. The Appellant had asked the complainant for her mobile phone…

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Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.