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04 May 2017 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7744 / Categories: Opinion
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Election blues

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Jon Robins considers the impact of the snap General Election on the UK justice system

In the countdown to the Brexit election, justice issues are likely to have even less of a look in than recent elections. That’s not to say that the snap poll is not already having an impact on lawyers and indeed non-lawyers.

Ta-ra to Truss?

Newspapers on the right have been rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of an early exit for our third non-lawyer lord chancellor after Chris Grayling and Michael Gove. Earlier last month the Daily Telegraph, before the election announcement, claimed that ‘senior government sources’ reported that cabinet ministers were piling on the pressure on Theresa May to strip Liz Truss of her role as Lord Chancellor.

A landslide win for the Conservatives on 8 June sharply increases the odds of that happening. According to The Sun, the PM is presently ‘sharpening her blade’ in anticipation of a post-election reshuffle.

Lord Thomas last month castigated Truss for her failure to stand up for the judiciary branded by sections of the press as ‘enemies of

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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