Recent Cases and News

This article refers to adults, the law for youths is different.   Do I have a right to bail? The starting point is that you have a “right” to be granted bail. This right can only be taken away in certain circumstances. These...

Agent provocateur is French for “inciting agent”, an entrapment situation where a person is enticed, incited or encouraged into committing an offence that he would not have otherwise committed.   How does it relate to criminal law? The...

The Sentencing Council, responsible for setting sentencing guidelines in England and Wales, has today issued a new guideline in relation to manslaughter offences.   Which offences are covered? The guideline covers: •   ...

The government has announced its intention to use new roadside breathalysers, in a move that could see a further 6,000 convictions per year for drink driving. At the moment, the breath test procedure is in 2 stages, a person who tests positive at the...

In July 2014 the BBC filmed a search of Sir Cliff Richard’s property by the South Yorkshire Police. He was not arrested for any offence. South Yorkshire Police provided the BBC with information that enabled them to be present at the scene. The...

It should be easy enough, shouldn’t it? Yes or no? As always, life and the law are more complicated than that, and the issue of consent is not so simple.   What is consent? A person consents if she or he agrees by choice and has the freedom...

Rather than Guy Fawkes or his modern-day counterparts many of the recent cases involving explosives have been in relation to thefts from cash machines. The law is old but still very relevant today; it may not be appreciated that a separate, more serious...

Arson is a confusing area of the law as there are a number of different offences to consider. What are the different offences? 1.    Simple arson 2.    Arson, being reckless as to whether life is endangered ...

Section 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 makes it is an offence to participate in the activities of an organised crime group, this is a new offence created by the 2015 legislation. Why a new offence? The offence was created to work alongside the offence...

The government has published an Offensive Weapons Bill, which is designed to signal a more stringent approach to the possession of weapons and liquids that can be used to cause harm, such as corrosive substances. The Bill forms part of the...