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Defending Press Freedom in the Investigation into Private Lives
Read more: Defending Press Freedom in the Investigation into Private LivesIn Baroness Lawrence and others v Associated Newspapers [2026] EWHC 1637 (KB), the High Court dismissed an action brought in the tort of misuse of private information by Baroness Lawrence and other public figures (including the Duchess of Sussex and Sir Elton John) against Associated Newspapers (Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday). The basis of the case was that the newspapers and staff at Associated Newspapers had used unlawful means…
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‘Spygate’ and breaching of the FA’s rules
Read more: ‘Spygate’ and breaching of the FA’s rulesThe recent controversy over the charging of Southampton Football Club with ‘spying’ on their opponents’ training ground for the purpose of preparing Southampton for its Premiership play-off match with Middlesborough FC has caused a great deal of outrage in the footballing world, and no little embarrassment and disappointment to Southampton FC and its supporters. The net result was that Southampton FC – who won the subsequent two-match play off to…
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Making Tax Digital for sole traders and landlords
Read more: Making Tax Digital for sole traders and landlordsWill it deliver compliance, or will It spark more creative evasion schemes? The phased introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax follows the successful implementation of MTD for Value Added Tax (VAT), which now helps more than two million businesses reduce errors and save time on their tax affairs. Although the success of MTD for Value Added Tax (VAT) remains debatable, as the VAT tax gap rose from 5.9 per cent of…
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AI whistleblowers: regulators of last resort?
Read more: AI whistleblowers: regulators of last resort?Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the biggest tech boom since the “dot com” era, but it has gone too far too fast. In late 2022, a major storm hit the internet, a chatbot called Chat-GPT using GenAI, which could write essays, code, or even crack jokes. Three years later, GenAI is not just a chatbot anymore; it can autonomously drive vehicles, manage warfare, provide health advice or medical diagnostics, and the…
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High Court rules that Palestine Action proscription was unlawful
Read more: High Court rules that Palestine Action proscription was unlawfulThe High Court last week held that the Home Secretary had acted unlawfully in proscribing (banning) the action group Palestine Action under s.1 of the Terrorism Act 2000: Ammori v Secretary of State for the Home Department, 13 February 2026. Nonetheless, the effect of that proscription will remain in place until the end of February, when a further hearing will take place to discuss what happened next, including the possibility…
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Stolen childhoods behind closed doors: the hidden reality of child domestic labour in Pakistan
Read more: Stolen childhoods behind closed doors: the hidden reality of child domestic labour in PakistanDomestic work is one of the oldest and socially acceptable form of informal labour for women and the girl child in the informal labour sector. While no consolidated official statistics are available, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that there were at least 8.5 million domestic workers in Pakistan.[1]The number is likely much higher, considering the difficulty of accounting for informal labour in the private sphere. Pakistan is one of…
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When AI meets intangible cultural heritage: balancing flourish and fairness
Read more: When AI meets intangible cultural heritage: balancing flourish and fairnessArtificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how societies preserve and engage with intangible cultural heritage (ICH)—the living traditions, practices, and expressions that communities transmit across generations. From machine-learning restoration of artefacts to conversational systems that support oral traditions and language revitalisation, AI promises unprecedented visibility, access, and interactivity. Yet this promise sits alongside structural risks: gaps in data sovereignty, uneven participation in the AI lifecycle, and the commodification or misrepresentation of…
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Deprivation of Citizenship Today: Between Globalisation and the State
Read more: Deprivation of Citizenship Today: Between Globalisation and the State“The fundamental deprivation of human rights is manifested first and above all in the deprivation of a place in the world which makes opinions significant and actions effective.” – Hannah Arendt, (Origins of Totalitarianism, 2017, 387-388). These profound words by Hannah Arendt frame the central concern of the current practices on citizenship with increasing deprivation decisions. Deprivation of citizenship represents one of the exceptional power’s states can exercise today. Particularly…
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Clause and Effect: a Legal Nightmare Before Christmas
Read more: Clause and Effect: a Legal Nightmare Before ChristmasLast week, one of the authors of this blog was watching The Santa Clause – a hit Christmas film from 1994 in which Tim Allen plays a businessman who becomes Father Christmas due to the operation of the ‘Santa Clause’ contained within a magical contract. WhatsApp exchanges with colleagues incited the remaining authors of this blog to also watch the film, and what ensued was an extensive exchange identifying the…
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Pitcairn revisited: The Pitcairn Trials and the Privy Council
Read more: Pitcairn revisited: The Pitcairn Trials and the Privy CouncilLast week I found myself hooked to a new podcast: The Pitcairn Trials. Produced in 2024 and released on BBC Sounds last month, the series spotlights a legal saga which coincided with my own time as an undergraduate law student. Although the trial and subsequent appeal to the Privy Council took place two decades ago, it remains a fascinating example of the challenges of colonial governance and the jurisdiction of…