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07 November 2025 / Sailesh Mehta , Theo Burges
Issue: 8138 / Categories: Features , Criminal , National security , Media , Data protection , Privacy
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The hydra grows another head

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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 increasing volume of national security cases and legal matters involving national security reflects heightened global and domestic concerns.
  • The diverse nature of national security work means a wide range of responsibilities and disciplines are involved, from intelligence and cybersecurity to counterterrorism and enforcement.
  • The evolving national security legal framework is adapting to new threats, technologies and geopolitical shifts.

In July of this year, Mr Justice Chamberlain discharged a super-injunction designed to prevent the reporting of a 2022 leak which put the lives of Afghans who co-operated with the UK in Afghanistan and their families at risk. In August, astoundingly, there was a further data breach in relation to British engagement in Afghanistan. The injunction was primarily granted due to concerns regarding threats to the lives of those connected to the leak, but it also later became clear

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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