Legal sector feeling subdued as regulator loses its AML powers October 23, 2025 The Treasury’s decision to transfer oversight of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision to the FCA has sparked concerns within the professional services sector. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) served as a Professional Body Supervisor (PBS) for AMLCT for law firms across England and Wales, while for the accountancy sector, the HMRC plays the supervision [...]
Rolex is London’s most stolen luxury watch, but few recovered by Met Police October 21, 2025 Over 5,000 luxury watches have been stolen in London over the last three years, but barely one in 88 of these watches has been recovered by the Metropolitan Police. According to a Freedom of Information request seen by City AM, there have been 5,180 high-value watches, worth £3,000 or more, stolen between January 2022 and [...]
Is Sadiq trying to gaslight Londoners about crime? October 16, 2025 The Mayor is desperate to convince Londoners that crime is falling, despite all the evidence to the contrary, writes James Ford London does not have a crime problem; it has a misinformation problem. That is the assertion of the capital’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan. Clearly wounded by President Trump’s recent claim that “crime in London is [...]
Legal profession hits back at Robert Jenrick threat against ‘activist’ judges October 13, 2025 Legal bodies representing over 250,000 lawyers have hit back against “politically motivated attacks” on the legal sector as “irresponsible and dangerous”, a week after the shadow justice secretary pledged to sack ‘activist’ judges. Last Tuesday, speaking at the Tory Conference, Robert Jenrick announced a sweeping crackdown on what he describes as “pro-migration bias” in the [...]
Parliament must ‘challenge’ Labour’s handling of China spy case October 10, 2025 Parliament has to “challenge the government’s handling” of the collapsed case against two men accused of spying for China, a senior Tory has told City AM. Speaking to City AM, David Davis MP, stated the issue must go to Parliament, “given that the government has quite explicitly put commercial interest ahead of the security and integrity [...]
Labour’s tobacco bill risks empowering black market, warns shadow minister October 7, 2025 The Labour government’s proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill could hand a significant boost to criminal gangs and fuel the growing black market in illicit goods across the UK, the shadow policing minister has warned. Matt Vickers MP has told City AM that the legislation, aimed at curbing smoking and youth vaping, fails to address the [...]
China spying case collapse leads to ‘interference’ accusations October 6, 2025 Senior officials have pointed fingers at the Labour government over the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service to drop the espionage case against two men accused of spying for China. Senior UK government figures told the Financial Times that the government fatally undermined the Chinese spying case in order to protect the UK’s commercial and [...]
Rayner scandal piles pressure on HMRC as tax surveillance force swells September 9, 2025 HMRC has increased the number of staff trained to physically monitor suspected tax evaders, as pressure mounts over Angela Rayner’s £40,000 stamp duty scandal. Official figures, obtained via Freedom of Information (FOI) and shared with City AM, show that 337 staff are now trained in covert surveillance, up from 171 people two years ago, in [...]
Justice secretary granted new veto powers over ‘independent’ public body September 2, 2025 The justice secretary has been granted the power to sign off on any new guidelines for prison sentences as part of a push for Parliament to have a say in the justice system, following political backlash earlier this year. As part of the Sentencing Bill, set to be introduced to the House of Commons today, [...]
Facial recognition vans rolled out across England in crime crackdown August 13, 2025 An additional seven police forces in England will be using ten new live facial recognition (LFR) vans to track suspects wanted for serious crimes, including sexual offences, violent assaults, and homicides. The rollout, announced by the Home Office, will see Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley and Hampshire police share the vehicles. [...]