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Crime brief: 23 June 2023

23 June 2023 / David Walbank KC
Issue: 8030 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Property , Judicial review
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Thus far, arguably the most significant output of the HS2 project has been a stream of litigation: David Walbank KC charts the path to judicial review
  • HS2 protesters tunnelling under Euston Square Gardens.
  • Offence of aggravated trespass.
  • Scope of the ‘lawful activity’ being obstructed or disrupted.

The economic benefits of the high-speed railway HS2 may sometimes seem illusory. Nebulous phrases like ‘connectivity’, ‘capacity’ and, dare I say it, ‘levelling up’ are bandied about, while a hard-headed costs/benefits analysis is harder to come by and grows ever more elusive as project costs continue to spiral. Only history will judge whether this state-of-the-art high-speed rail link, supposedly bringing London and the North of England closer together, is ultimately seen as a marvel of modern engineering or the biggest white elephant ever to burn through our increasingly straitened public finances. However, one identifiable sub-class of our fellow citizens that it has undoubtedly benefited is the criminal lawyer. Rarely has any major construction project given rise to such

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NEWS
Property lawyers have given a cautious welcome to the government’s landmark Bill capping ground rents at £250, banning new leasehold properties and making it easier for leaseholders to switch to commonhold
Four Nightingale courts are to be made permanent, as justice ministers continue to grapple with the record-level Crown Court backlog
The judiciary has set itself a trio of objectives and a trio of focus areas for the next five years, in its Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2026-2030

The Sentencing Act 2026 received royal assent last week, bringing into law the recommendations of David Gauke’s May 2025 Independent Sentencing Review

Victims of crime are to be given free access to transcripts of Crown Court sentencing remarks, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed
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