Adam Fletcher

Westminster council proposes to link benefits to exercise

Filed under General legal information, Human Rights, Legal news, January 3, 2013 by , No Comments

Westminster Council is proposing to cut the benefits of overweight and unhealthy people who don’t exercise enough, according to the BBC.

Under the plans, GPs would be allowed to prescribe fitness classes in an aim to cut £5bn from the NHS budget.

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2012’s quirky tales

Filed under Editorial, General legal information, December 21, 2012 by , No Comments

2012 has been a big year for news; a Presidential election that didn’t result in a legal battle, Apple Vs Everyone, Hillsborough, banking scandals galore, tax avoidance, Jimmy Savile, the Olympics, and of course a royal pregnancy.

These were all interesting (and often shocking) stories, however there were plenty of other interesting and quirky stories we covered this year.

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2012: The year ‘banker’ became rhyming slang

Filed under Corporate crime, Legal news, December 19, 2012 by , No Comments

This year seems to have been a big one as far as banking scandals go. A major part of the fallout from the financial crisis, which was predominantly caused by the irresponsible actions of banks, has been a public and government outcry regarding the way banks operate.

From rate fixing to bonuses, money laundering and sanction breaking, this has been a year in which the banks have been taken to task by lawmakers and regulators across the world.

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The year in social media

Filed under Criminal law, Defamation, Editorial, December 18, 2012 by , 1 Comment

With the end of the year quickly approaching we thought we’d do a round up on the big stories we’ve covered this year relating to the law and social media.

From Twitter users being sued, fined and jailed to Facebook cyber bullying, it’s been a very interesting year in the world of social media.

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Sally Bercow, the Speaker’s wife, being sued by Lord McAlpine over tweet

Filed under Defamation, Legal news, December 14, 2012 by , 2 Comments

The fallout from the Lord McAlpine saga continues this week with reports that Sally Bercow, the Speaker’s wife, is being sued by McAlpine for a tweet Mrs Bercow made which linked McAlpine to the allegations of child abuse which were aired on BBC’s Newsnight.

The BBC reports that lawyers acting for Lord McAlpine have made a claim for damages limited to £50,000.

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‘Pink slime’ worker suing Jamie Oliver

Filed under Civil Litigation, Legal news, December 13, 2012 by , No Comments

Jamie Oliver, ABC News and blogger Bettina Siegel are amongst the defendants in a lawsuit being brought forward by a former worker of Beef Products, Inc, the manufacturer of so-called ‘pink slime’, according to the BBC.

58-year-old Bruce Smith was one of almost 1,000 people laid off when the manufacturer stopped making lean finely textured beef due to a public outcry.

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HSBC to pay £1.2bn fine over money laundering

Filed under Corporate crime, International law, Legal news, December 11, 2012 by , No Comments

HSBC has announced it will pay $1.9bn (£1.2bn) to US authorities in a settlement over poor money laundering controls, according to the BBC.

The news originally broke in July, when HSBC executives appeared at a US senate hearing following a subcommittee report which highlighted serious issues with the bank’s American operation.

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HMRC has the scent of garlic smugglers

Filed under Criminal law, Legal news, December 10, 2012 by , No Comments

A garlic smuggler is on the run after being convicted of avoiding £2m in import duty, according to the BBC.

Murugasan Natarajan was sentenced to six years in prison after being caught out pretending thousands of tonnes of garlic was fresh ginger, which is not taxed.

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Five-year-old British girl embroiled in transatlantic custody dispute

Filed under Family law, Legal news, December 6, 2012 by , No Comments

A young British girl with an American father is the subject of an international custody battle which has gone all the way to the US Supreme Court, according to the Telegraph.

Five-year-old Eris Hales Chafin’s mother, Lynne Hales, is arguing with ex-husband Jeffrey Chafin, a US Army sergeant, over custody of their daughter.

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Python producer seeks larger share of Grail

Filed under Disputes, Legal news, December 4, 2012 by , No Comments

The High Court yesterday learned that the surviving members of Monty Python are note “unpleasant, shifty people” as a case regarding profits gained from 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Producer of the film Mark Forstater has taken the surviving members of the comedy group to court demanding an equal share of profits from spin-offs, particularly the stage musical Spamalot.

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