Legal News Round-Up – October 2024

What else made the headlines in the month of Octber?…

October brings in Autumn and the dark nights start to draw in. As we move into towards one of the busiest times of year, we look at some of the other legal news article from last month we didn’t get chance to feature.

Ministry of Justice report shows 1 in 4 have a criminal record.

According to an article in the Law Society Gazette, the Ministry of Justice have published a report revealing that there are currently 1 in 4 people of working age that have a criminal record.

The MoJ have drawn data from the Police National Computer (PNC) which has highlighted that around 9.4m people of working age have a criminal record – equating to the 1 in 4 figure of those in the UK of a working age.

Further to this startling statistic, there are calls for how checks are completed by employers looking for criminal records of prospective employees.

To read more about this, you can read more on the Law Society website, click here.

Deputy District Judge Issued With Formal Advice Following Speeding Conviction

Also in the Law Society Gazette last month, an article regarding Sarah Ellis, a district judge who was caught speeding “substantially above” the speed limit on a rural A road and has subsequently been issued with a Formal Advice for misconduct.

In the article, it is revealed that Ellis – who received a fine of £1000 and six points on her license following the conviction – self-reported the incident Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, stating she was “deeply sorry”.

Ellis claimed that she had sped up to get away from an aggressive and erratically driven transit van containing two men who she claimed forced her to take action to get away from the men, leading to her conviction.

You can read the full article on the Law Gazette website by clicking here.

Could short-term jail sentences be scrapped?

The BBC website reported last month that ministers from the new Labour Government are considering a shake-up to short-term jail sentences which could see them scrapped altogether.

With prison over-crowding a real issue, the measures are under consideration, although the Labour Government aren’t the first to consider the idea.

Back in 2019, the then Justice Secretary David Gauke was considering the idea, saying there was a strong case for scrapping them. However, he was replaced by Robert Buckland, who rejected the idea.

However, with prisons now bursting at the seams – and having already seen the recent early release of some prisoners, current Justice Secretary, Shebana Mahmood, is considering the notion once more, whilst wanting to place greater emphasis on Community Sentences, involving strict conditions and punishments, but no time behind bars.

To read the full article, click here.

Wife of Tory Councillor Jailed for Social Media Post.

Lucy Connolly, who is married to Raymond Connolly – a West Northamptonshire councillor – has been jailed for 31 months following a post on her X account which was lead to her being convicted of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred following the Southport stabbings.

In her post, Connolly called called for “mass deportation now”, and for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set on fire, adding: “If that makes me racist, so be it.”

Despite her subsequently deleting her post and apologising, her comment had been viewed over 300,000 times and reposted by 900+ other X users.

As the article continues, Connolly seemed to be unaware of the severity of the post.

In sentencing Connolly, who appeared via a video link from HMP Peterborough, was ordered to serve 40% of her 31-month sentence in prison before being released on licence.

To read the full article on the Sky News website, click here.

And Finally – Wine Gang Who Sold “Fake Vintage” Wine for £12,500 a bottle are caught.

Finally this month, Sky News also reported about the seven arrests made in France and Italy of a wine gang who sold “cheap plonk” for £12,500 a bottle, claiming it was vintage wine.#

Following a large-scale investigation, the gang was busted following raids at a dozen sites across France and northern Italy – which uncovered counterfeit bottles, stickers and over £100,000 in cash as well as technical machinery to “recap bottles”.

It is estimated that the gang had made around £1.7m by the fraud, with counterfeit bottles of alcohol a huge issue becoming increasingly common.

Read more about this incredible story and more details here.

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