Issue 195  29th May 2021

The prime minister has given his personal backing to the push for continued funding of the justice system next year, the lord chief justice said today. Lord Burnett of Maldon said he had met with Boris Johnson and received the ‘distinct impression’ he agrees with the argument that a further cash injection is required to deal with the courts backlog. The judge added that he was also ‘confident’ that lord chancellor Robert Buckland QC believes the same, ahead of crucial discussions about funding allocations with the Treasury...

Last month Buckland announced that there would be no cap on judicial sitting days this year to maximise capacity across the justice system. In 2010, there were 110,000 Crown court sitting days, but following budget cuts this had fallen to 86,000 on the eve of the pandemic.

Revised sentencing guidelines for assault offences including attempted murder and common assault, and new guidance for assaults on emergency workers were published today by the Sentencing Council, following wide consultation. The guidelines will come into effect on 1 July 2021.

Two retired police officers and an ex-solicitor accused of altering police statements after the Hillsborough disaster have been acquitted. Retired Ch Supt Donald Denton, retired Det Ch Insp Alan Foster and former solicitor Peter Metcalf had denied perverting the course of justice. Mr Justice William Davis ruled they had no case to answer.

Mr Denton, Mr Foster and Mr Metcalf were accused of trying to minimise the blame placed on South Yorkshire Police in the aftermath of the disaster by altering statements. However, the judge said the statements had been prepared for the public inquiry chaired by Lord Taylor in 1990. He said this was not a statutory inquiry and therefore not considered "a court of law", so it was not a "course of public justice" which could be perverted. Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC said they would not seek leave to appeal against the judge's decision.

A crackdown on county lines drug dealing gangs resulted in the arrest of 1,100 people and the seizure of 292 weapons. Forces across the UK boosted activity against county lines gangs in the week from 17 to 23 May. In this week there were 33 guns and 219 knives among the weapons seized and 80 drug dealing phone lines identified. County line gangs are urban drug dealers who sell to customers in more rural areas via dedicated phone lines. There are currently thought to be around 600 of these gangs operating in the UK, down from around 2,000 two years ago. They are notorious for exploiting children to work as couriers and forcing vulnerable people to let them use their homes to conceal or deal drugs, as portrayed in BBC drama Line of Duty.

Dog thieves and owners who abandon their pets when they return to the office after the pandemic could face tougher sentences under plans being considered by the government.

Dognapping, which soared during lockdown, could be prosecuted under animal welfare laws instead of the Theft Act 1968. Ministers believe this will ensure that the emotional attachment between owners and their pets is considered in more cases...

Ministers are understood to be reluctant to create a specific offence, as demanded by MPs and campaigners. They are looking instead at strengthening sentencing guidelines to ensure that judges consider the emotional worth of a pet rather than its cash value.

The Bar Council has opposed government plans to legalise remote juries, saying it would render jurors spectators rather than participants in the justice process. In a briefing on the controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, the representative body said it does not support legislation allowing for remote juries. ‘The Bar Council echoes the comments made by the lord chief justice that remote juries would make the jury spectators rather than participants in a trial. For these reasons, it is our belief that this measure should not become law without thorough research, evaluation and consideration of the impact on the administration of justice and justice outcomes.’

The council added that it is ‘unnecessary’ to legalise remote juries now, when in-person trials are underway. ‘At the height of the pandemic, when remote proceedings were almost the only way of ensuring the justice system could continue to hear cases, such a measure may have been more understandable. The situation was addressed in other ways, so the measure now seems unnecessary. If such a measure were required in future, it could and should be introduced then at a point at which the need for such a fundamental change to the jury trial process could be properly considered by parliament in the particular circumstances of a new emergency,' it said.