Academics argue that protesters charged with nonviolent offences should not be compelled to renounce their motives in court. Dr Graeme Hayes from Aston University said: “The way courts handle protest trials forces activists into an impossible position – either abandon their political stance or face harsher punishment.” A study, published in the Oxford Journal of…

HMRC is to launch a new tax whistleblowing system to encourage people to come forward with information on tax dodgers. Tax minister James Murray said improved incentives will be offered to those willing to expose complex fraud, bringing payouts form the tax office into line with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the US. More…

Retailers in the UK are calling for tougher laws to protect shop staff from increasing levels of theft and abuse. A recent survey revealed that 24% of the population witnessed shoplifting in the past year, equating to 16m incidents, while 23% observed abuse towards retail workers. Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium…

US District Judge Beryl Howell has temporarily blocked a large portion of Donald Trump’s executive order that targeted Perkins Coie, labelling it a national security risk. The executive order aimed to strip Perkins Coie lawyers of their security clearances and terminate contracts. The judge rejected the Justice Department’s arguments that the firm had not suffered…

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has initiated a scheme to compensate disability benefit claimants who were adversely affected by the transition to Universal Credit. Up to 15,000 individuals may be eligible for backdated payments, with estimates suggesting compensation could exceed £5,000 per person. Ryan Bradshaw, a partner at Leigh Day, highlighted the significant…

Labour has implemented the first pay rise for prisoners in eight years, costing £4.4m. Approximately 85,000 inmates in England and Wales will receive an additional £1 per week, raising their average pay to about £15. This increase, described as a “modest” adjustment, aims to address the stagnation of wages since 2016, which had fallen behind…