Search: Peter Watson

Prime Minister David Cameron The UK government could restrict the voting rights of Scottish MPs through a change to Parliament's standing orders, according to a senior government source.

A new campaign organisation backed by women's groups and the Scottish Trade Union Congress is calling for tougher laws that make it illegal to buy sex. End Prostitution Now is pressing the Scottish Parliament to introduce laws similar to those in Sweden, where it is criminal to buy sex but the selli

A draft bill drawn up by Conservative lawyers would see terrorist suspects, illegal immigrants and criminals barred from exercising some of their human rights The draft bill, which would replace the Human Rights Act 1998, provides that rights need to be placed in the historical context of the UK , w

New members have been appointed to the Scottish Legal Aid Board. David Fisken and Amy Hunter have been appointed as legal members to the board, while Alexandra Walker has been appointed as a member with court experience.

Hereditary peers in the House of Lords will become a thing of the past under legislation which has now passed at Westminster. The House of Lords will no longer be up there with Lesotho's Senate among the only legislative bodies in the world with a hereditary element following the passage of the Here

The UK's home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has been criticised after naming the panopticon as her model for the British criminal justice system. In an interview with Tony Blair, Ms Mahmood – who served as the UK's justice secretary from July 2024 to September 2025 – said her vision in tha

David Lammy has been accused by senior barristers of misusing statistics about rape cases collapsing in what they describe as a “cynical” attempt to justify plans to abolish jury trials for roughly half of Crown Court cases. The justice secretary has repeatedly claimed that 60 per cent o

Dentons has introduced a domestic abuse support policy developed in consultation with the Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA). The range of support measures available to all Dentons colleagues across the UK, Ireland and Middle East include:

Experts from around the world have worked together to expand a unique resource that helps countries, militaries, and academics understand how international law applies to cyber activities. The Cyber Law Toolkit offers a unique combination of resources, including detailed hypothetical scenarios, a re

“Mediation is no-one’s little brother. Mediation is not alternative dispute resolution. It is not the easy option. Mediation is how the most intractable issues can be resolved.” The words I quote above are those of leading New Zealand mediator, Mark Kelly. Kelly has done mediation

Lianda Barnes discusses Transport Scotland's new road safety strategy. Silver Linings Playbook. What a great book, and quite the film. An emotional roller coaster. Might need to re-watch it again soon. If you’ve not seen it, I can recommend it. But that’s not the point of this article.

A former MSP has lost a case against Glasgow City Council in which he alleged that it had acted unlawfully in permanently excluding him from being employed by them as a social worker on the basis that doing so would present an unacceptable level of risk. Tommy Sheridan, who served as an MSP from 199

Harper Macleod has recorded turnover of £43.5 million for the year to 31 March 2025, an increase of nearly 20 per cent compared to the previous 12 months (£36.5m). Profit before remuneration rose from £13.7m to £16.1m for 2024/25. Headcount across its five offices in Glasgow,

The number of solicitors registered to provide legal aid in Scotland has fallen by more than 12 per cent in just three years, according to new figures. As of 26 May, there were 1,122 solicitors registered to provide criminal and children’s legal aid, while 450 firms were registered for civil l

A new University of Stirling academic journal dedicated to sharing research on human rights aims to influence policy and decision makers in the UK and worldwide. The University of Stirling Human Rights Journal (USHRJ) is the first of its kind in Scotland.