header-logo header-logo

Weak defence against state threats

05 August 2021
Issue: 7944 / Categories: Legal News , Constitutional law
printer mail-detail
Barristers have warned of ‘serious shortcomings’ in Home Office plans to counter state threats

The Home Office ‘Consultation on legislation to counter state threats’ sets out how the UK will tackle hostile activity by states, such as cyber attacks, threats to infrastructure, theft of information or interference in the democratic process. It proposes targeting individual activity as well as amending the Official Secrets Act.

Responding to the consultation, however, the Bar Council highlighted the ‘bewildering’ failure to address either how the proposed measures might affect individuals with diplomatic immunity or how to deal with jurisdictional issues where cyber attacks originate from outside the UK.

The Bar Council warned there was no reason to modify the Official Secrets Act. It also highlighted the absence of any suggestion on sanctions against hostile acts.

Issue: 7944 / Categories: Legal News , Constitutional law
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll