4 h. ago MoJ considering ‘extreme’ proposal to scrap jury trials for all but the most serious cases

The radical plan from David Lammy has been criticised by senior lawyers, who say it could ‘destroy justice as we know it’Jury trials for all except the most serious crimes such as rape, murder and manslaughter are set to be scrapped under radical proposals drawn up by David Lammy.In proposals that drew a swift backlash from senior lawyers, who said that they would not reduce court backlogs and could “destroy justice as we know it”, the justice secretary has proposed that juries will only pass judgment on public interest offences with possible prison sentences of more than five years. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago David Lammy considers scrapping jury trials for all but the most serious cases

Senior lawyers criticise justice secretary’s radical plan, saying it could ‘destroy justice as we know it’Jury trials for all except the most serious crimes such as rape, murder and manslaughter are set to be scrapped under radical proposals drawn up by David Lammy.In proposals that drew a swift backlash from senior lawyers, who said that they would not reduce court backlogs and could “destroy justice as we know it”, the justice secretary has proposed that juries will only pass judgment on public interest offences with possible prison sentences of more than five years. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Ministers plan to scrap jury trials in England and Wales except for most serious cases

Proposed changes unlikely to apply to trials for serious offences such as rape and murder

Politics

29 h. ago UK ministers back Heathrow airport’s £49bn plan for third runway

Proposal to expand London hub will require moving part of the M25 motorway

Politics

29 h. ago Ministers back Heathrow’s £49bn runway plan over rival scheme

Expansion plan for London’s hub airport will require moving the M25 motorway

Politics

2 d. ago MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Puberty blocker trial turns children into crash

Labour's Health Secretary, Wes Streeting said a planned clinical trial by NHS England would go ahead. The ban would then be reviewed in 2027 in the light of any new evidence that emerged.

Events

4 d. ago Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors

Classification plan will create basis for ‘significantly stricter’ prosecutions, says interior ministerGermany plans to treat the use of date rape drugs like the use of weapons in prosecutions as part of measures to ensure justice for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.“We classify date rape drugs, which are increasingly used as a widespread tool in crimes, as weapons. This creates the basis for significantly stricter prosecutions,” Alexander Dobrindt, the interior minister, said on Friday. “We are committed to clear consequences and consistent enforcement. Women should feel safe and be able to move freely everywhere.” Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Keir Starmer is set to approve China's new super embassy in London despite spying fears after Beijing warned of 'consequences' if development was rejected

The Prime Minister is reportedly planning to approve the controversial plan for the Royal Mint Complex near the Tower of London.

Events

5 d. ago Any Ukraine peace plan needs Kyiv and Europe ‘on board’, says EU – Europe live

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas leads reaction as reports circulate about a secret plan between Moscow and Washington to end the warUkrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko has met with US army secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, saying the pair had a chance “to assess the situation on the ground and to witness first-hand the consequences of Russian aggression.”“While Russia continues killing innocent civilians, destroying homes, and targeting critical infrastructure, the strategy of pressure on Russia is proving effective. It is crucial to further strengthen energy and financial sanctions against the aggressor state,” she said. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago UN plan just ‘first step’ toward peace in Gaza, says Palestinian foreign minister

Varsen Aghabekian Shahin backs resolution, while Hamas rejects idea of international force inside territoryAnalysis: One of the oddest UN resolutions in historyThe Palestinian foreign minister has described the UN security council resolution endorsing Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza as a necessary first step on a long road towards peace, even as Hamas rejected it as a form of international guardianship with which it will not cooperate.Arab state leaders who have reluctantly adopted the plan said the US urgently needed to set out the composition of the proposed Palestinian technocratic committee that is to deliver services inside Gaza, as well as the leadership of the international stabilisation force (ISF), which is supposed to oversee security. Membership of the board of peace, the body that is to oversee the ISF and a Palestinian civilian police force also remains unknown. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago South Africa foreign minister says charter flights part of a plan to clear Palestinians out of Gaza

South Africa’s foreign minister says that a plane that arrived in the country last week with more than 150 Palestinians on board was part of a “broader agenda” to clear out Gaza and the West Bank through a network of chartered flights

Politics

8 d. ago Minister urges Labour MPs to ‘look closely’ at asylum plan amid backbench outcry

Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce sweeping changes in the Commons on Monday, including an overhaul of human rights laws.

Politics

9 d. ago Reform's plan to cut immigration is just 'gimmicks', says minister

Immigration minister Seema Malhotra has dismissed Reform's plans to tackle immigration numbers as "gimmicks" that have "unravelled on basic facts and figures"

Politics

1 week ago Starmer was never meant to be Labour’s prime minister – his leadership was doomed from the start | Neal Lawson

His alliance with the party’s anti-Corbyn faction was a shotgun marriage that totally lacked vision. Now Labour is paying the priceWes Streeting was always meant to be their Labour prime minister. The plan, hatched by a tiny clique of rightwing faction fighters, was this: find a candidate on whom they could fake a continuation Corbynism project to win the leadership. Then kick the ladder away from the people who backed them and the promises they made. At the next general election, given the scale of the Tory majority after 2019, get Labour back in the ring with more MPs and then hand over to Streeting. The real grownups would then be in charge and the subsequent election would be secured.But no one reckoned with Covid, Tory turmoil and the collapse of the SNP. Suddenly Keir Starmer wasn’t going to just lead Labour to a better defeat and a springboard for victory next time. Against the odds, he was going to win. Just as Jeremy Corbyn was Labour’s accidental leader in 2015, Starmer wa...

Politics

1 week ago Starmer’s backers never meant him to be prime minister – his leadership was doomed from the start | Neal Lawson

His alliance with the party’s anti-Corbyn faction was a shotgun marriage that totally lacked vision. Now Labour is paying the priceWes Streeting was always meant to be their Labour prime minister. The plan, hatched by a tiny clique of rightwing faction fighters, was this: find a candidate on whom they could fake a continuation Corbynism project to win the leadership. Then kick the ladder away from the people who backed them and the promises they made. At the next general election, given the scale of the Tory majority after 2019, get Labour back in the ring with more MPs and then hand over to Streeting. The real grownups would then be in charge and the subsequent election would be secured.But no one reckoned with Covid, Tory turmoil and the collapse of the SNP. Suddenly Keir Starmer wasn’t going to just lead Labour to a better defeat and a springboard for victory next time. Against the odds, he was going to win. Just as Jeremy Corbyn was Labour’s accidental leader in 2015, Starmer wa...

Politics

2 w. ago UK minister unveils plan to cut animal testing through greater use of AI

New funding for researchers and streamlined regulation part of roadmap for phasing out use of animals in scienceAnimal testing in science would be phased out faster under a new plan to increase the use of artificial intelligence and 3D bioprinted human tissues, a UK minister has said.The roadmap unveiled by the science minister, Patrick Vallance, backs replacing certain animal tests that are still used where necessary to determine the safety of products such as life-saving vaccines and the impact pesticides have on living beings and the environment. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Remembrance Sunday: How Scots – and English – law dealt with enemy spies caught in Scotland

After two German spies were caught in Scotland, the decision to put them on trial in England caused concern among the legal community

Economics

2 w. ago Douglas Alexander 'perplexed' at SNP minister claiming to hear about asylum seeker plan on radio

The Scottish Secretary pointed the finger at Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville for claiming she “learned” about the plans “through the media” because she had written to the Home Office about it weeks before.

Politics

3 w. ago Canada’s Liberal party says budget of ‘sacrifice’ needed to avoid recession

Country set to unveil PM Mark Carney’s spending plan as it battles trade war with US and protracted cost of living crisisCanada’s ruling Liberal party has said a budget of “sacrifice” is required to confront both a trade war with the US and a protracted cost of living crisis that threatens to push the country into a recession. But with opposition parties signalling they won’t support the fiscal plans of the prime minister, Mark Carney, a failed parliamentary vote on the budget could plunge the country into another federal election in the coming weeks.The country’s finance minister, François-Philippe Champagne, will on Tuesday unveil a spending plan his government has signalled will include both steep deficits and spending cuts. Few details have leaked ahead of the announcement, which will mark the first substantive look at how Carney plans to avoid a recession while locked in a trade war with the US, Canada’s biggest economic partner. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Delivering a strong NHS and reducing waiting times is my guarantee to Scots

In his regular column for the Record, First Minister John Swinney insists the Scottish Government's plan to reduce waiting times is working.

Sport