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30 June 2023
Issue: 8031 / Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Public
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NLJ this week: Who decides what the COVID inquiry sees?

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The COVID inquiry, chaired by Baroness Hallett, has been beset by ‘an esoteric dispute’ with the government over the withholding of documents and information, John Gould, senior partner, Russell-Cooke, writes in this week’s NLJ

The dispute centres on the meaning of ‘relevance’, with Cabinet Office determined to hang on to the documents. Meanwhile, Baroness Hallett has a job to do—to examine, consider and report on preparations and the response to the pandemic. Gould asks why Cabinet Office is behaving this way, and on Baroness Hallett’s powers and responsibilities in response. He comments that the Baroness has to date been ’sporting’. 

Gould reminds us of the sobering fact that ‘nearly as many people have died in the UK from COVID as British military personnel died in the six years of World War II’. He writes: ‘It is hard to overestimate the importance of establishing the facts of the pandemic, without doubt or spin—not only for the victims, but also so that hindsight may help us when, inevitably, the next pandemic comes.’ 

Read the article in full here.

Issue: 8031 / Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Public
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

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