Johnny Depp: Actor to find out if he can appeal against High Court ruling that he beat Amber Heard

Johnny Depp will find out tomorrow whether he can bring an appeal against a damning High Court ruling that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard and left her in ‘fear for her life’.  Following a three-week trial in July last year, Mr Justice Nicol dismissed the Hollywood star’s libel claim against the publisher of The Sun, …

How to get over a break-up or divorce and why grief is something you need to deal with to move on

When the dust of a divorce or break-up has settled you can draw important lessons from the the experience. Photo: Shutterstock Every romantic experience – no matter how good or bad – is important to personal development. More often than not, we come out of a relationship as an evolved version of ourselves. A break-up …

Call for vulnerable victims to give video evidence amid courts backlog

Up to 10,000 vulnerable victims facing long delays for trials should be allowed to give evidence by video in an attempt to stop them falling out of the system, according to the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales. Dame Vera Baird warned of a collapse in confidence in the criminal justice system and an exodus …

Campaigners welcome extra protections in domestic abuse bill

Campaigners have welcomed news that ministers will make non-fatal strangulation a specific criminal offence punishable by five years’ imprisonment. The government confirmed on Monday that it would introduce the legislation as an amendment to the domestic abuse bill being debated in parliament. Legislation will also be strengthened against controlling or coercive behaviour, making it no …

Can employees' personal devices be searched as part of litigation disclosure?

The Court of Appeal’s judgment in Phones 4U v EE Limited could have profound implications for companies whose employees use personal devices for professional purposes.   The Court of Appeal recently upheld a decision of the High Court that a party, as part of its disclosure obligations, should request that employees and former employees hand …

Miscarriage of justice body’s workload doubled despite severe cuts – report

The miscarriage of justice watchdog has suffered the “biggest cut” of any part of the criminal justice system since 2010 and its caseload has more than doubled over the same period, according to a parliamentary investigation. Two years ago the all-party parliamentary group on miscarriages of justice commissioned an inquiry into the Criminal Cases Review …

Divorce rates during Covid in Europe (press release)

Over the last years, more people have been getting a divorce in Europe. The 2020 pandemic seemed to have accentuated this trend as many couples were forced into lockdown together and were forced to face old relationship wounds or problems in isolation. Eurostat points out that Ireland is one of the EU states to have …

Make This Mother's Day Marvellous With These Lockdown-London Ideas

Brigit’s Bakery’s Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea On the one hand, Mother’s Day: clearly a made-up-by-marketing-execs celebration. On the other hand… any excuse to celebrate sounds good about now — and there are still plenty of ways you can spoil somebody from afar on Sunday 14 March, with help from some excellent London-based businesses. From afternoon …

Adele and Simon Konecki ‘FINALISE their divorce two years after split’

Adele and Simon Konecki have reportedly finalised their divorce nearly two years after their split.  The Someone Like You hitmaker, 32, and charity CEO, 46, are now said to be ‘officially divorced’ after a judge signed off on the settlement on Thursday, according to US Weekly.     It comes following reports that Adele was forced to use mediators to …