Key Quotes - The Law

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Last update: Wednesday 25th March




The mother of twins who survived after being born at just 23 weeks – a week earlier than the current legal abortion limit – has criticised the law, it was reported at the end of January. Pam Glover, their mother, said: ‘For us now, the idea that it’s possible to abort a child up to 24 weeks – older than our twins – just doesn’t bear thinking about. The abortion limit should be lower’.
The Law	Evangelicals Now, March 2013



A judge controversially ruled on October 16 that Northern Ireland must allow gay couples to adopt children, despite widespread opposition. Northern Ireland’s health minister, Edwin Poots, has vowed to urgently appeal against the ruling, warning that it could hinder further adoption reforms. An official public consultation into whether to allow gay adoption in Northern Ireland showed that 95% of respondents were opposed to the move.
The Law	Evangelicals Now, December 2012



Illegal immigrants and terrorist suspects with no right to stay in Britain will be forced out more quickly, David Cameron said yesterday. The Prime Minister announced plans to cut short delays to their cases by overhauling the judicial review system. The measures were billed as a way to speed up infrastructure projects but most judicial reviews are immigration cases. Last night Justice Secretary Chris Grayling confirmed that deportation cases will not be held up for so long in future. He said changes were needed to stop 'spurious claims'. Hate preacher Abu Hamza is one of dozens of terror suspects to use judicial reviews to delay their removal, sometimes for years. Ministers plan to raise the cost of reviews, reduce the time slot for bringing cases and cut the number of appeals from four to two.
The Law	Daily Mail November 20 2012



Kenneth Clarke yesterday admitted that Government plans for secret courts may be defeated as one of the country's leading legal bodies said they were more suited to 'repressive regimes and undemocratic societies'. As the House of Lords began to debate the Justice and Security Bill - which would allow civil cases involving national security to be conducted behind closed doors - Mr Clarke made a last-ditch attempt to rally support for the legislation. But he played down the significance of Parliamentary defeats, suggesting the Government may have to water down its plans still further to get them into law. In a significant blow to the Bill, the Law Society yesterday warned it would badly damage Britain's reputation for open and fair justice.
The Law	Daily Mail November 20 2012



At the end of September, Ed Miliband said that churches and religious institutions should be free to hold same-sex weddings. The Labour leader is calling for equality legislation to include a clause allowing same-sex partners to marry in religious premises, with the backing of the institution concerned.
The Law	Evangelicals Now, November 2012



The Christian Institute (CI) held a briefing in London on September 11 to highlight the spread of shari'a law in the UK. While many British Muslims are content to live peaceably here, there are others who want to see the influence of Islam increase by the use of shari'a courts. To compound this, it was suggested that already Islam is being given preferential treatment. Alan Craig, spearhead of the campaign against the building of a mega mosque close to the Olympic Park, cited the instance of a local primary school whose staff complied with a request from the parents of Muslim pupils to deny food and drink to them during Ramadan, despite it being in the middle of a heat-wave. He also said that, following a recent minor operation, his wife was asked not to visit him on the recovery ward because of the 'religious sensibilities' of other patients on the ward. According to a report from Civitas in 2009, there are as many as 85 shari'a courts operating in the UK, often passing rulings which are largely incompatible with our national laws and inherently discriminatory against women. uknews EN
The Law	Evangelicals Now October 2012



David Cameron yesterday promised that gay marriage will be legalised by 2015, as he compared Church opposition with Conservatives who once 'locked out’ homosexuals from the party. The Prime Minister also paid tribute to Tony Blair for paving the way by introducing civil partnerships. In remarks that will concern some Tory traditionalists, he said: 'I am absolutely determined that this Coalition government will follow in that tradition by legislating for gay marriage in this Parliament.' Praising the institution of marriage, he added: ‘It's something I feel passionately about and I think if it's good enough for straight people like me, it's good enough for everybody and that's why we should have gay marriage and we will.' Mr Cameron, who was speaking at a Number 10 reception for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, has promised his MPs a free vote on the issue. But the Lib Dems will be whipped to vote in favour of it.
The Law	The Daily Mail July 26 2012



A Muslim hospital consultant was told yesterday that he must pay his ex-wife maintenance even though under Islamic rules he believes he owes her nothing. A judge told Dr Zaid Al-Saffar that he must follow 'the rule in this country' and share his money. The Appeal Court decision means Dr Al-Saffar must pay £60,000 to his former wife, academic Hanan Al-Saffar. The ruling sounded a warning to Muslim couples who believe their marriages are ordered according to sharia law and agree to be bound by Islamic courts. Lord Justice Ward told Dr Al-Saffar: 'The rule in this country is that you share and the starting point is equal division. 'You came out of the marriage without having made your wife any substantial capital payment.'
The Law	The Daily Mail July 26 2012



Last week, David Cameron announced that forcing a son or daughter into a marriage against their will is to become a criminal offence in England and Wales. ‘Forced marriage is abhorrent and little more than slavery’ he said. ‘To force anyone into marriage against their will is simply wrong and that is why we have taken decisive action to make it illegal’.
The Law	The War Cry – 23rd June 2012



On 21st March, the Chancellor, Rt. Hon. George Osborne, announced during his Budget speech that the Government would relax the Sunday trading laws during the eight weeks which cover the Olympic Games. This would permit all shops to be open 24 hours each day. This announcement was slipped in unobtrusively with little reaction from the House. Despite the assurance that the Sunday Trading laws would be for the eight weeks only, the greatest fear for those who work within the retail industry, is that this temporary lifting of the current restrictions could pave the way for a permanent change in the law.
The Law	DayOne Magazine – June-September 2012



Scotland Yard was plunged into a racism crisis after revealing ten new complaints have been referred to the Independent Police complaints Commission. Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey insisted “the Met does not tolerate racism.” He added “Today we have referred seven cases to the IPCC in addition to the three cases already reported in the media. As the review continues there may be further referrals.” Eight officers have now been suspended.
The Law	The Sentinel – 6th April 2012



Cars and flat-screen televisions would be taken from offenders under government plans announced yesterday to make the seizure of assets a sentence in its own right. Tax and benefit records would also be made available to the courts to allow judges and magistrates to set fines that more obviously match offenders' income and ability to pay. The proposals were among a package of measures including "virtual prison" punishments in which offenders would lose passports, driving licences and the ability to leave home at night. Hundreds of thousands of offenders face harsher community punishment as the Government attempts to persuade the courts and public that non-custodial sentences are rigorous.
The Law	The Times - March 28 2012



The number of police officers has fallen to 135,838 officers; the lowest since 2002, as a police chief warned cuts had left his force “on a metaphorical cliff edge”. There were more than 6,000 fewer officers in England and Wales at the end of September last year compared with the year before, more than 9,000 fewer police staff, and more than 900 fewer community support officers. But the number of specials, unpaid volunteers, rose by more than 2,500. The Home Office figures were published as Gloucestershire Chief Constable Tony Melville spoke out against the Government’s budget cuts.
The Law	The Sentinel - January 27, 2012



Careful reform of the “fiendishly difficult” murder law is needed to help stop a “sense of injustice” over life sentences, the most senior judge in England and Wales has said. The Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge said proposals for a U.S.-style system of first and second degree murder seven years ago were “provocative but very interesting”, but successive governments had failed to act. He stopped short of publicly backing the move, but said the law needed to “keep in step with public opinion.”
The Law	The Sentinel, December 7, 2011



A new report ‘Legal Aid in welfare: the tool we can’t afford to lose’ by disability charity Scope exposes the serious consequences for disabled people if the Government goes ahead with massive Legal Aid cuts. The report, released last month, was commissioned by the Justice for All coalition of charities, legal and advice agencies, trade unions and community groups follows the route five typical claimants take as they negotiate red tape and bureaucracy with and without legal aid, and how the appeal and tribunal systems fall down when it is not present. It comes at a time when approximately 1.5 million people on Incapacity Benefit are being reassessed in a bid to create a more accurate system. But, by denying 78,000 disabled people access to legal advice each year the charity shows how the Government is set to create a much less efficient and accurate system, says Scope in their report.
The Law	Catholic South West, Dec & Jan 2012

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