Antonia Romeo appointed civil service boss Politics Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Dame Antonia Romeo to be the first female cabinet secretary to lead the civil service, as part of a reshuffle of the government’s top team. The new civil service chief is currently the most senior civil servant at the Home Office, and was a leading contender for the role when [...]
Law Society slams Labour’s ‘crude’ stealth tax on legal clients Legal The Law Society issued a blistering response to the government’s proposal to take the interest law firms earn on money sitting in their client accounts, branding it a “fundamentally flawed” sector-specific tax that threatens the stability of the wider UK legal economy. Last month, the Ministry of Justice opened a consultation on a proposal to [...]
David Lammy’s plan to seize law firm interest sparks outrage Legal Secretary of State for Justice David Lammy was accused of a “brazen attempt” to “confiscate law firms’ cash” after the government revealed plans to take the interest law firms earn on money sitting in their client accounts. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Justice opened a consultation on a proposal to introduce an Interest on [...]
Government concedes workers’ rights overhaul will spark surge in tribunal claims January 8, 2026 The government’s flagship workers’ rights overhaul will spark a 17 per cent surge in employment tribunal cases, according to an official government analysis that claims the radical employment shake-up should reduce joblessness and boost growth. In a paper released on Wednesday, civil servants warned that measures in the act – including bolstering employees’ rights from [...]
Scathing report blames MoJ for wasting public funds and failing justice system January 7, 2026 A new scathing Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealed that a cyberattack last year at the Legal Aid Agency gave hackers access to sensitive providers’ and data for four months. There was a cyberattack on the Legal Aid Agency last year that took the services offline for some time [...]
Labour government moves to protect litigation funding December 17, 2025 The UK government plans to legislate to reverse the impact of a Supreme Court judgment on the litigation funding industry. The top court ruled in a 2023 case, known as PACCAR, that percentages of damage recovered were not enforceable. This ruling threw the litigation funding industry into uncertainty, as it brought its funding into the [...]
Tribunal backlog hits record high ahead of workers’ rights bill December 12, 2025 The backlog of employment tribunal cases hit a record high between July and September, in a further sign that the UK’s legal system will struggle to absorb any uptick in unfair dismissal claims caused by the government’s workers’ rights package. According to newly released Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures, there were a record 515,000 open [...]
Government slashes rights to trial by jury in court shake-up December 2, 2025 Justice secretary David Lammy has confirmed his controversial plans to scrap some jury trials to tackle the nearly 80,000 criminal cases backlog. Speaking in the House of Commons, after a week of outrage following a leak of the plan, Lammy told MPs that he will “follow Sir Brian [Leveson]’s bold blueprint for change”, by creating [...]
David Lammy promises ‘fast and fair justice’ plan after jury trial leak sparked outrage December 2, 2025 After a week of criticism following leaked details of plans to scrap some jury trials, David Lammy is expected to address the controversy on Tuesday and outline the next steps in the government’s plan to overhaul the justice system. The backlog at the Crown Court stands at almost 80,000 cases, but the justice secretary has [...]
David Lammy proposing to scrap some jury trials to tackle backlog November 25, 2025 As the criminal justice system continues to crumble, the justice secretary David Lammy is reportedly proposing a major shake-up that would scrap some jury trials. Currently, all criminal trials are heard in front of a jury that decides on the accused’s fate; however, Lammy’s proposal will see jury trials only for murder, rape or manslaughter [...]