The appointed Chair is Anne Longfield (Baroness Longfield) who was the Children's Commissioner for England from from March 2015 until the end of February 2021. On receiving her peerage, Longfield took the Labour Whip in the House of Lords which she will now resign.
There are to be two other
Sandie Peggie claimed against both her employer (Fife Health Board) and Dr Beth Upton. The claims related to the use by Dr Upton (a trans woman) of a female changing room at Victoria Hospital (Kirkcaldy) where both Sandie Peggie and Beth Upton worked,
Sandie Peggie alleged breaches of the Equality Act 2010 in relation
Mr Joseph ("Joey") Barton was a professional footballer for Manchester City FC (2002 - 2007) and Manchester United FC (2007 - 2011).
On 8 December 2025, he was sentenced for 6 offences under section 1(1)(b) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988. He was convicted of the offences by a jury.
The section applies to
The same day, the government wrote to all councils in remaining two-tier areas to set out plans for a programme of both devolution and local government reorganisation - see Local Government Association - Devolution Deals.
On 5 February 2025, the government made a statement about English Devolution and Local Government. The Minister - (then Angela Rayner MP) - said
Independent Review of the Criminal Courts Part 1 (pdf 388 pages). Part 2 of the report - (Efficiency) - continues to be awaited.
On Tuesday 2 November 2025, the Secretary of State for Justice (Mr David Lammy MP) announced to the House of Commons the government's proposals for criminal justice reforms - see Hansard 2 December.
At this point we can note that indictable-only offences (i.e. triable ONLY in the Crown Court) will continue to be tried with juries. There are many such offences including murder, manslaughter, causing death by dangerous driving, robbery, aggravated burglary etc.
An exception will be 'exceptionally technical and lengthy fraud and financial trials' where judges will be able to sit without a jury where appropriate. Lammy said - 'While those cases are small in number, they place undue pressure on jurors to sit for months—a significant interference with their personal and professional lives.' Naturally one wonders whether that reasoning will come to apply to other types of case - e.g. cases involving difficult forensic or medical evidence etc.
Many offences are "triable either-way" -
Back in July, Sir Brian Leveson published the first part of his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. Initial thoughts about the report may be read in the previous post 6 July 2025.
Independent Review of the Criminal Courts Part 1 (pdf 388 pages). Part 2 of the report - (Efficiency) - is awaited.
The report, if adopted in full, will result in only the more serious criminal cases being tried by Judge and Jury in the Crown Court.
At the outset, Leveson set the background - 'Criminal justice is in crisis. The open caseload in the Crown Court has now reached a record high. As of December 2024, there were over 75,000 outstanding cases in the Crown Court. That is more than double the numbers in 2019, and trials are being listed as far ahead as 2029.'
The crisis has come about mainly
Haigh's resignation came about after it emerged that, in 2013 before becoming an MP, she had made a false report to the Police. In the Magistrates' Court she pleaded guilty and received a conditional discharge - see BBC 29 November 2025.
On 5 December 2024, a "complainant" submitted a request to the Cabinet Office - "Please state whether any current ministers declared a criminal conviction to officials during their appointment process. If any, please state the number of current ministers [who] declared a criminal conviction to officials during their appointment process.”
The Cabinet Office
On Tuesday 9 December 2025, the Home Secretary (Shabana Mahmood MP) informed the House of Commons of the appointment of a Chair for the Groo...
