Month: November 2013

Barristerblogger can’t stand sanctimonious left-wingery and as a result tries hard to be right-wing. But it is very difficult when some Conservative MPs try to pass laws that are mind-bogglingly, catatonically stupid.

Next month (probably on 10th January) a fine example of such a proposal is being debated in Parliament. It is an attempt to amend the criminal law. Surprisingly it emanates not from the Lord Chancellor – a notably practised political buffoon – but from two Northamptonshire Conservative MPs: Messrs Phillip Hollobone (Kettering) and Peter Bone (Wellingborough). Their proposal is characterised by the sort of stupidity, I suppose one could call it bone-headed, that drives one close to despair. Continue reading “Phillip Hollobone and Peter Bone: Could they be the stupidest men in Parliament?”

Theresa May has set herself the breathtakingly ambitious task of making it illegal to be annoying. It would be a difficult enough task if it was confined to adults. After all, a short gaol sentence managed the seemingly impossible task of making Chris Huhne even more annoying than he was before. Be that as it may, her objective is no more and no less than to put a stop to the annoying behaviour not only of adults but of children too. We must hope that her crackdown is successful. Continue reading “Home Secretary vows to crack down on annoying children”

What do Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ursula Brennan and Chris Grayling have in common?

 The answer is that all of them, though not lawyers, have been elected as honorary benchers of Gray’s Inn. It is a great honour, especially for non-lawyers.

I am grateful to utterbarrister for digging out the Inn’s selection criteria for the appointment of honorary benchers. (The Standing Orders point out that Honorary Benchers should be appointed “sparingly”). Continue reading “Gray’s Inn honoured Grayling and Brennan. Now they’ve got them for eternity”

I am a barrister in private practice specialising in criminal prosecution and defence. I have been in practice since 1986 and have worked exclusively from Pump Court Chambers (chambers of Oba Nsugbe QC). I entirely agree with the submissions of the Western Circuit and the Criminal Bar Association and just wish to add a few remarks based on my own experience. I believe that these proposals, if implemented, will spell the death of the criminal bar as it exists today with disastrous consequences for our justice system. Continue reading “My Response to MOJ’s second Consultation on legal aid reforms”