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Private eye

11 August 2011 / Tom Morrison
Issue: 7478 / Categories: Features , Data protection
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Tom Morrison returns with his quarterly review of the world of information law

I mentioned in my first column that one of the consequences of a public authority complying with a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FIA 2000) can be that the media acquires some embarrassing information (NLJ, 20 May 2011, p 698). In the months that have followed it has been certain media outlets themselves that have suffered the consequences of disclosure as new revelations concerning inappropriate use of private investigators have come to light. Whilst some of the recent detail is disturbing, the fact of newspapers using private investigators to uncover information is not new. Neither is the fact that some of the methods used by those private investigators have been questionable at best.

Operation Motorman

Following an investigation code-named Operation Motorman the then information commissioner, Richard Thomas, highlighted the issues in his 2006 reports to Parliament What Price Privacy and What Price Privacy Now?. One of his aims was to expose the illicit trade in personal

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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