England

Magistrates in England and Wales are to have their sentencing powers increased in order to reduce pressure on the Crown Courts and "speed up justice", it was confirmed today. Under plans announced by Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, the maximum six-month prison sentence that can currently be handed o

Prosecutors are less likely to pursue people involved in mercy killings in cases where a suspect is “wholly motivated by compassion” or where the person had reached a “voluntary, settled and informed decision to end their life”. Current Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) advice

Football fans who racially abuse players will be banned from attending matches for up to a decade under new laws in England and Wales. Home secretary Priti Patel is introducing legislation to widen the ambit of football banning orders – which can be imposed on people convicted of violence, dis

Convictions imposed on people for consensual homosexual activity under former laws will be included in a scheme for “righting the wrongs of the past”, the UK's home secretary Priti Patel is to announce. Ms Patel said more people would have convictions for same-sex sexual activity removed

Seven more convictions of former subpostmasters linked to a flawed Post Office computer system have been overturned. Subpostmasters were victims of a scandal which saw the Post Office use its private prosecution powers over a 15-year period from 2000 onwards to prosecute and convict them of crimes.

Justice secretary Dominic Raab has been attacked by the bar over claims he is ignoring the problems in the criminal courts, The Times reports. Mr Raab was accused of snubbing the Bar Council's annual conference over the weekend after he failed to make a speech in person. He sent a pre-recorded video

Judges have been reminded that the press must be allowed to freely access public court hearings after reporters were refused entry on a number of occasions this year. Reporters from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) attended possession courts on 110 occasions over the summer. They reveal

Financial penalties would be imposed on parents who bring vexatious claims to the family courts under plans being drawn up by the UK government. Justice secretary Dominic Raab wants mediation to be the default process in divorce cases to stop couples from burdening the courts, The Times reports.

The English Court of Appeal has refused permission to appeal by a 41-year-old man against a decision not to grant two orders in his favour to secure financial support from his still-married parents. Faiz Siddiqui, who was aged 41 at the time of the original hearing, argued that orders under the 

England risks losing out on economic growth and international influence because its crumbling legal system is not prepared for innovations such as cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and green investing, new research warns. The Social Market Foundation said that delays in settling cases in ove

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has obtained an extra £2.2 billion to resolve the backlog of court cases. It had warned the Treasury that the backlog could rise to 72,000 cases – up from the pre-pandemic figure of 41,000 – unless is secured an extra £500 million to expand the N

Officers abusing their position for sexual purposes is now the single largest form of police corruption in England and Wales, a watchdog has said. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the number of people facing disciplinary proceedings for APSP has "risen sharply" in the past three

Plans to offer "automatic online convictions" to people charged with minor offences will lead to "trigger-happy justice", campaigners have said. The UK government's controversial Judicial Review and Courts Bill, which returns to the Commons floor today, will allow for people charged with minor offen

The backlog of cases in the criminal courts in England and Wales is likely to be a pervasive issue for several years, severely affecting all court users, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The pandemic significantly affected the work of the criminal justice system, requiring e

Complainants in England and Wales are waiting more than 600 days for justice after reporting a crime – a rise of more than 50 per cent in the past year. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that in the second quarter of this year, the time between a crime occurring and a case being resolv