The High Court has overturned the suspension of Richard Cooke, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, after he claimed that allegations of widespread racism in the force were “nonsense.” Mr Cooke argued that his suspension breached his right to free speech. The court found that the decision lacked proper justification under Article 10 of…

With Home secretary Shabana Mahmood set to announce significant reforms to policing in England and Wales, police will be given an aim to answer 999 calls within 10 seconds and reach serious incidents within 15 minutes in cities and 20 minutes in rural areas. Ms Mahmood commented: “Everyday crimes are on the rise… By the…

Labour’s new sentencing reforms will allow 43,000 criminals to avoid jail entirely, while many others will serve only a third of their sentences. The Ministry of Justice’s “progression model” aims to alleviate prison overcrowding but has faced backlash from victims’ advocates. Shadow Justice Minister Kieran Mullan said: “This Bill is a betrayal of the victims…

David Lammy’s proposal for judge-only criminal trials in England and Wales may save less than 2% of crown court time, according to the Institute for Government (IFG). The IFG report suggests that while jury trials could decrease by 50%, the overall reduction in court time would be only 7% to 10%. Cassia Rowland, author of…

The UK Government has defended a deal to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back the key military base of Diego Garcia after US President Donald Trump described the deal as an “act of great stupidity”. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “There is no doubt that China and…

Lord Reed, president of the UK Supreme Court, will retire on 10 January 2027. He has served as president since 2020 and as a Supreme Court judge since 2012. Before this, he was a senior judge in Scotland for 14 years. Lord Reed studied law at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Oxford,…