Issue 276  14th January 2023

Dominic Raab will use the upcoming Victims Bill to push through radical parole reforms giving ministers the power to block the release of prisoners. Under the changes, about 600 of the most serious offenders approved for release by the Parole Board each year will need their release to be personally signed off by justice ministers before they are freed from prison. Raab, the justice secretary, believes this will prevent the release of about two thirds of the prisoners approved for release by the Parole Board...

Another change will require Parole Board panels deciding on the release of the most dangerous offenders to feature individuals with a background in law enforcement. Raab believes including former police officers will lead to a more precautionary approach. Only one in 20 Parole Board members are currently from law enforcement.

A third change will enshrine a statutory duty for the board to take a more precautionary approach. The wording will make clear that the only priority is whether a prisoner is safe to release and the panel will have to be presented with firm evidence that the offender poses no threat to the public. Currently the “release test” says the board must not approve a prisoner for release unless it is “satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the person should be confined”. The Victims Bill will shift the test’s emphasis and require the Parole Board to be “satisfied” that the public would not be put at risk from further serious offending if the prisoner were to be released...

Police are to be given more powers to combat new tactics taken by protesters that are designed to cause maximum disruption. Just Stop Oil’s most recent protests in the autumn involved slowly walking through streets in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, and Holborn, in central London, to bring traffic to a crawl. Downing Street said that it was looking at what extra powers could assist police in stopping the tactics from causing disruption to people’s lives...

An amendment is expected to be added to the Public Order Bill, which is going through parliament and is intended to restrict disruptive protests. It is expected to complete its passage in the next few weeks. Rishi Sunak wrote an article for the Conservative Home website yesterday arguing that disruptive protests were “not right and we’re going to put a stop to it”. He said the proposals would be set out to prevent “a small minority disrupting the lives of the hard-working majority”... No 10 suggested that there could be additional powers and greater clarity for police. “We want the police to have the requisite powers and that includes ensuring that when people are significantly disrupting the public’s everyday lives, the police can act,” the prime minister’s official spokesman said...

The Law Society has issued an ultimatum to lord chancellor Dominic Raab over criminal legal aid fees: increase them by the minimum amount recommended by the government-commissioned Bellamy review or face a judicial review. The Bellamy review, published towards the end of 2021, recommended an immediate 15% uplift in fees for solicitors and barristers as soon as possible. Publishing the government's final response a year later, the Ministry of Justice said solicitor firms would see a total fee increase of around 11%. Today, Chancery Lane said it has sent a pre-action letter to the government.

Society president Lubna Shuja said: ‘We argue the lord chancellor’s decision not to remunerate solicitors by the bare minimum 15%, which the independent review said was needed immediately over a year ago to prevent the collapse of the criminal defence sector, is unlawful, as is the decision not to take action to address the risk of local market failure. ‘We are seeking a commitment by the government to withdraw both decisions and reconsider them within a mutually agreed timetable. If not, we will issue a judicial review seeking an order to quash them.’

Justice ministers from around the world will convene in London in March to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigating alleged war crimes in Ukraine...

The meeting at Lancaster House will be hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and the Minister of Justice and Security of the Netherlands, Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius. It aims to increase the global financial and practical support being offered to the ICC and coordinate efforts to ensure it has all it needs to carry out investigations and prosecute those responsible. The group will hear from Prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan KC, on the Court’s work and the role of the international community in supporting its investigations. The meeting comes as Russia steps up its campaign of terror against Ukraine, striking at crucial energy infrastructure and plunging people into the dark and freezing cold of winter. In reclaimed areas of Ukraine, prosecutors continue to gather evidence of atrocities and sexual violence.

Over 80 high-tech X-ray machines will be installed by the end of March – building on the body scanners, drug-trace machines, metal detection archways and more that have stopped tens of thousands of items from wreaking havoc inside prisons. For the first time, prisons beyond the high security estate will use the new, improved machines to check baggage brought in by the thousands of staff and visitors who enter and exit prisons every day...