National security

The fallout from Lord Mandelson’s appointment and dismissal as UK ambassador to Washington raises profound questions about constitutional governance, accountability and political appointments

Professor Graham Zellick KC identifies the constitutional, legal & governance issues arising from Lord Mandelson’s appointment & dismissal as ambassador to the US

In NLJ this week, Sailesh Mehta and Theo Burges of Red Lion Chambers examine the government’s first-ever 'Afghan leak' super-injunction—used to block reporting of data exposing Afghans who aided UK forces and over 100 British officials. Unlike celebrity privacy cases, this injunction centred on national security. Its use, the authors argue, signals the rise of a vast new body of national security law spanning civil, criminal, and media domains

The Afghan leak super-injunction highlights the growing body of national security law spanning ever-increasing areas of practice, write Sailesh Mehta & Theo Burges

The High Court has lifted a two-year super-injunction concealing the leak of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) list of more than 18,000 Afghan nationals who assisted British forces against the Taliban

Aneurin Brewer sets out a practical guide to defending the pilots of small boats following the Nationality and Borders Act 2022

Writing in NLJ this week, Aneurin Brewer of Red Lion Chambers offers a practical defence guide for small boat pilots charged under the Immigration Act 1971, as amended by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022

Daniel Khalife’s escape from HM Wandsworth strapped by a pair of trousers beneath the chassis of a delivery van grabbed public attention back in 2023. In this week’s NLJ, Sailesh Mehta and Theo Burges, Red Lion Chambers, examine how spies have previously been sentenced in the UK, the core principles involved, the increasingly close link between terrorism and espionage offences, and why they expect the number of prosecutions in this area to grow

Sailesh Mehta & Theo Burges consider the sentencing of Daniel Khalife & the growing intersection between terrorism & espionage offences

The Home Office will regain access to Europol DNA and criminal records, while export checks will be simplified for food, fish and farm products, under the UK-EU deal