Cuts to England’s cycling and walking budget challenged in court | Transport policy

Swingeing cuts to public spending on cycling and walking in England should be overturned as government expenditure was already insufficient to meet legally binding climate targets, the high court has been told. Campaigners are challenging a decision in 2023 to cut more than £200m from Department for Transport’s active travel budget for the following two …

Man who raped his wife tried to convince court he was victim of domestic abuse | Family law

A man who raped his wife and was controlling and threatening towards her and their two children attempted to manipulate the family court into believing he was a victim of domestic abuse, a judge has ruled. In a damning judgment Judge Middleton-Roy found the man’s conduct – which included frequently filming of his family using …

Law Society calls for civil legal aid increase over unrepresented parties in family court

The Law Society today expressed its ‘extreme concern’ over the increased number of litigants in person in private family law cases in the decade since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act came in to force. In a call to the government, it said civil legal aid fees should be increased ‘so that …

Sex offender banned from using AI tools in landmark UK case | Artificial intelligence (AI)

A sex offender convicted of making more than 1,000 indecent images of children has been banned from using any “AI creating tools” for the next five years in the first known case of its kind. Anthony Dover, 48, was ordered by a UK court “not to use, visit or access” artificial intelligence generation tools without …

Special investigation: Greater Family Court transparency puts expert witnesses in the spotlight

I first reported on the highly divisive issue of ‘parental alienation’ in 2022. It refers to a scenario where a child rejects one parent for no reason other than being manipulated or influenced by the other. I have heard directly from parents – mothers in particular – who have lost custody of children following evidence …

Stop crime victims in England and Wales paying thousands for court transcripts, say MPs | Crime

MPs from across the political spectrum have urged the government to remove a “barrier to justice” that sees crime victims in England and Wales forced to pay hundreds or thousands of pounds for transcripts of court proceedings. Under the current system, those affected by crime – including the most serious sexual and violent offences – …