Double Jeopardy - UK Law and Politics

Reaction to the damning judgment handed down by Mr Justice Nicklin on 7th July (https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/lawrence-and-others-v associated-newspapers-limited/) dismissing the privacy and unlawful information gathering claims brought by Prince Harry and six other well known individuals against the Daily Mail publishers has been sharply divided. In an extraordinary, potentially reckless statement, given that Nicklin is due to decide the issues of costs later this month, Prince Harry condemned it as "a complete and obvious whitewash", questioning the objectivity and fairness of the Judge while Associated Newspapers welcomed the judgment as "a magnificent vindication" of the freedom of the press and its journalists.

For expert legal commentary on why the claimants lost, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined once again by the leading media barrister Gavin Millar KC, who regularly acts for the media in high profile legal cases. Why did the Judge reject each and every claim despite the Daily Mail admitting it had regularly recruited third party investigators with previous form for phone hacking, "blagging" and other unlawful conduct to assist its journalists in their stories? How could the claimants' legal team have got things so badly wrong? Is the Judge's approach to "propensity" evidence and the strict demand for article-by-article proof, appealable?

Ken and Tim then answer some listeners' questions about last week's episode with Dame Vera Baird KC and the current state of the CCRC, a recurring theme in our legal commentary on the criminal justice crisis, before ending with a tribute to the great former Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay of Clashfern who died on 7th July 2026 at the age of 99.

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.  ​

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.  ​

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Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.  ​

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003 2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule o law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. ​

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Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. ​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is a vital cog in the UK legal system but both before and after the catalogue of failures in handling of the Andrew Malkinson case were laid out in great detail in Chris Henley KC’s 2024 Report (https://cdn.websitebuilder.service.justice.gov.uk/uploads/sites/5/2024/10 henleyreport.pdf) it was widely regarded as an institution in permanent crisis, badly managed and apparently incapable of fulfilling the goals which lead to its creation via the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 in the wake of a series o high profile legal cases and miscarriages of justice.

In this week’s episode Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by the Chair of the CCRC, Dame Vera Baird KC, for expert legal commentary and  ask why she took on the job in 2025 following the resignation of the much criticised former Chair, Helen Pitcher, and whether she is optimistic that she can turn the organisation around despite the numerous structural flaws identified in the recently published Report by His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (https://hmcpsi.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/report/criminal-cases-review commission-casework/).

Does the baleful legacy of remote working contracts – which means that almost all the CCRC’s staff work from home rather than in its Birmingham office – represent a fundamental obstacle to reforming the dysfunctional work environment exposed by the HMCPSI Report? Does the CCRC have enough people with criminal law experience working on its caseload? And are the CCRC Commissioners – intended at the outset to provide real expertise and detailed oversight of casework – too detached and insufficiently involved in day-to-day work to maintain effective scrutiny of case workers? Does the “real possibility” statutory test - which requires the CCRC to predict whether it thinks the Court of Appeal will overturn a conviction – force the CCRC to be overly deferential to the judiciary, raising real questions about correcting miscarriages of justice and effectively turning it into a gatekeeper rather than a bold investigative advocate for justice? Can Dame Vera be confident that there will never be another disaster such as the Malkinson case under a reformed CCRC?

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.    ​

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds powerin Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.    ​

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003 2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. ​

​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. 

​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum upon us, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC begin the episode with a reminder of actor Danny Dyer’s memorable thoughts on “this whole Brexit thing” and his unflattering assessment of David Cameron’s role in enabling our departure from the EU, before they reflect on what the impact of Brexit has been on the UK legal system.

Ken and Tim then discuss how the interregnum between Keir Starmer’s resignation and the imminent arrival of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister has brought uncertainty in relation to who Burnham will appoint as the new Justice Secretary and Attorney General on the basis that neither David Lammy nor Richard Hermer seem likely to remain in their current jobs. What, if any, impact will a Burnham premiership have on the future of Labour’s jury trial reforms in the Courts and Tribunals Bill given Burnham’s publicly expressed concern that the government “should proceed with huge caution and do not take away something that’s a lynchpin of a fair society.”

 

The duo comment on the arguments advanced by Palestine Action in support of their unsuccessful application to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision to uphold the Home Secretary’s proscription decision and anticipate the likely response from the Supreme Court itself.

 

Finally, they discuss the merits of the Law Commission’s consultation paper on reforming the law of homicide (https://lawcom.gov.uk/news/law-commission-proposes-major-overhaul-of-homicide-offences/) and look forward to next week’s episode where their guest will be the Interim Chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, Dame Vera Baird KC. Listeners interested in some homework in advance of the discussion with Dame Vera might wish to listen to the February 2025 episode of Double Jeopardy with guest Chris Henley KC where they discuss the shocking failures by the CCRC in relation to the Andrew Malkinson case - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0jrqjoXcIduyM1weZpFyP2?si=jBMeN3uzQruBF7rVhW4m9Q

 

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.    ​

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.   ​



Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights. 

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003 2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. ​

​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. ​

​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week two parallel Private Bills were introduced in the House of Commons and House of Lords by Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Sir John Whittingdale MP (https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/4163) with the aim of expanding the existing law to tackle so-called SLAPP litigation – Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation – defined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority as “a misuse of the legal system through bringing claims or threatening claims that are unmeritorious or characterised by abusive tactics in order to stifle lawful scrutiny and publication”.

To debate the justification for extending the existing law as set out in sections 194 and 195 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (currently limited solely to freedom of expression in relation to economic crime issues) Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by two media law Titans – Hugh Tomlinson KC and Gavin Millar KC – who have dramatically different views on the need for and practicality of anti-SLAPP laws.

Is it right, as the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition argue, that the UK legal system tops the bill in terms of SLAPP suits (https://antislapp.uk/what-is-a-slapp/cases-in-focus/)?

Is the Stowell/Whittingdale Bill far too broad so as to enable fruitcakes, crackpots and loonies to seek the remedy of summary dismissal on the basis that what they are alleging, however absurd, is in the public interest?  Are the costs protections in favour of media defendants far too generous and bound to interfere with a claimant’s right of access to the Courts? Is it appropriate for such a fundamental legislative measure to be enacted as a Private Member’s Bill, or is this classically a job for the Law Commission to consider and propose a carefully thought through legislative amendment to existing law?

Finally, Ken and Tim reflect on the resignation of Keir Starmer and consider whether Andy Burnham is likely to ditch the deeply unpopular proposals for jury reform in the Courts and Tribunals Bill, possibly with a new Justice Secretary replacing David Lammy.

 

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.    ​

​

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.   ​

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.    ​

​

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. ​

​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. ​

 

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last three episodes of Double Jeopardy covering the media ban on convicted murderer Jeremy Bamber, the Fordingbridge rape sentences and the murder of Henry Nowak have generated big audiences and plenty of comments and questions from listeners. And so in this week’s episode Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC respond to a range of listeners’ questions including – why bother to debate the rights and wrongs of the decision by the prison authorities to ban Bamber from all contact with the media given the numerous unsuccessful attempts he has made to overturn his convictions? Is it really necessary for a journalist to be able to have a face to face meeting with a prisoner when researching his/her claim to be a victim of a miscarriage of justice?

Should politicians stay out of sentencing decisions altogether or was it acceptable for Keir Starmer to express his personal view on the sentences meted out to the child rapists in the Fordingbridge case? Should a child convicted of an “adult crime” such as rape be treated as an adult in sentencing terms as the mother of one of the girl victims has publicly urged? (Since recording the episode we learned that the hearing of the Attorney General’s reference of the rape sentences to the Court of Appeal has been adjourned to 1-2 July.)

Ken and Tim also discuss the Report of the Justice Select Committee (which is highly critical of the Courts and Tribunals Bill on the basis its proposed reforms are being advanced without sufficient evidence, planning or formal response to Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts) (Parliamentcommittees.parliament.uk/publications/53510/documents/298926/default). They anticipate the revival of the Assisted Dying Bill now that the MP who came second in the Private Members’ Bill ballot, Lauren Edwards, has announced she will promote it in the next Parliamentary session. And finally, the duo reflect on the judgment of the Court of Appeal upholding the Home Secretary’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action (JudiciaryHome Secretary -v- Huda Ammori - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary)

 

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.    

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.   

 

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.    

 

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003 2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. 

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. 

 

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices