Issue 237  26th March 2022

Barristers will not be balloted on whether they are happy to accept the proposed £135m package of criminal legal aid reforms announced last week, the Criminal Bar Association has revealed. CBA chair Jo Sidhu QC said the government's response to Sir Christopher Bellamy's recommendations ‘betrays a wholesale failure to recognise the severity of the crisis currently engulfing our criminal justice system and the urgency needed to address that huge challenge’.

Criminal barristers voted overwhelmingly in favour of adopting a 'no returns' policy from 11 April unless the government agreed to a series of steps, including a 25% remuneration increase under the advocates’ graduated fee scheme for claims submitted on or after 11 April. The ministry is proposing a 15% uplift. Any reforms would not come into force until October at the earliest. Lord chancellor Dominic Raab told the Commons last week that strike action would be 'totally unwarranted' now.

The government announced the multi-year funding package as it publishes local criminal justice scorecards for the first time – shining a light on the work of agencies such as the police and Crown Prosecution Service at a regional level. At present, funding for victim support services is confirmed annually. The move to a long-term model – with at least £147 million per year up to 2025 – will allow charities and service providers to plan for the future, build capacity and strengthen their resilience to help even more victims. It comes as Police and Crime Commissioners report that the number of victims accessing support increased by 15% between 2019/20 and 2020/21.

The money will fund emotional, practical and therapeutic support for victims of crime such as women and girls affected by domestic abuse. This includes helping fund more specialist Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs). The investment will provide greater consistency for people accessing these services and ensure help is always there when needed.

A journalist may keep secret the identity of a man who police say is responsible for the deaths of 21 people in the Birmingham pub bombings. A court backed Chris Mullin in a fight against West Midlands Police which wanted to force him to reveal a source over the 1974 atrocities. Police lawyers maintained Mr Mullin's notes could solve the case, saying they contained the name of the bomb planter. The former MP said he was "grateful" for the judge's decision. "The right of a journalist to protect his or her sources is fundamental to a free press in a democracy," he said in a statement after the Old Bailey ruling. "My actions in this case were overwhelmingly in the public interest."

A new funding scheme that will ensure postmasters who played a crucial role in uncovering the Post Office Horizon IT scandal receive their fair share of compensation was announced by the Chancellor today (Tuesday March 22)...

... Rishi Sunak said a new compensation scheme will be set up in the coming months targeted at the postmasters who brought and won the landmark High Court case against the Post Office over the failings. The 2019 ruling paved the way for millions of pounds worth of future pay-outs and led to the Court of Appeal quashing the convictions of postmasters who were wrongly accused of committing crimes. Despite winning nearly £43 million in compensation in 2019, the group was left financially disadvantaged after having to pay significant legal costs based on a “no win, no fee” agreement with Therium – the company which funded its litigation. Due to the terms of their legal agreement each postmaster received a small fraction of the settlement - equating to around £20,000 each...

A loophole allowing drivers to escape punishment for handheld phone use if they are taking a photo or playing a game has closed in Great Britain. People can now be fined up to £1,000 and receive six points on their licence for scrolling through playlists or taking pictures on a handheld device. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the government was taking a "zero-tolerance approach". Devices can still be used hands-free while driving if secured in a cradle. The law change, which does not apply in Northern Ireland, is an extension of an existing offence which includes making phone calls or sending text messages. In July 2019, a man overturned a conviction for filming a crash saying he was not using his phone "to communicate". Following that ruling two High Court judges criticised the law on using phones while driving, saying it had failed to evolve with the rise of technology...

The former boyfriend of a woman who was left with catastrophic brain injuries when she fell out of a van he had bundled her into has had his prison sentence increased. Chay Bowskill, of Syston, Leicestershire, bundled Angel Lynn into a van being driven by his friend Rocco Sansome as she tried to walk away from him after an argument in September 2020. She was found lying seriously injured in the carriageway of the A6 near Loughborough, and remains in hospital requiring round-the-clock care. Bowskill was originally sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for kidnapping, coercive behaviour and perverting the course of justice. His sentence was increased to 12 years by court of appeal judges on Wednesday, after they concluded his original term for the kidnap was not long enough.

Magistrates could get only half a day’s training on new powers that will enable them to hand out longer prison sentences. Lord chancellor Dominic Raab unveiled plans in January to double the current six-month prison sentence that can be handed down by magistrates to help drive down the Crown court backlog - a move that has not been widely welcomed.

The Ministry of Justice’s press release stated that ‘proper training will need to be completed by magistrates before this change can come into effect’. The training will be provided by the Judicial College, which has reportedly issued a notice on its learning management system about the launch of ‘increased sentencing powers training’ for magistrates and legal advisers sitting in the criminal jurisdiction. ‘This new training is essential for those magistrates and legal advisers. It will take approximately ½ day to complete, must be completed prior to implementation of the provisions (25 April 2022) and will be followed by webinars arranged locally in April/May. (This eLearning is modular and progress will be saved so it does not have to be completed in one sitting,’ the notice says...