header-logo header-logo

Spy cops under scrutiny

30 July 2015 / Nicholas Griffin KC
Issue: 7664 / Categories: Features , Public
printer mail-detail
nlj_7664_griffin

Nicholas Griffin QC explores the scope & approach of the Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing

Recently, there have been numerous and significant revelations about the way in which the state exercises its powers to spy on its own citizens. For its part, the government explains that we live in a time of terrorist threat and the law enforcement and spy agencies must be given the tools and powers they need to meet that threat. The result is that most of us are left wondering where the line between the competing interests of our security on the one hand and our privacy on the other should be drawn. 

Much of the media coverage has focused on the activities of the spy agencies in this country and in the US, particularly after the revelations of Edward Snowden. However, many of the same issues arise in connection with the activities of the police, including with the use of undercover officers who can gain access to our most private thoughts and information. It is now suggested

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
back-to-top-scroll