Phone hacking silk appointed High Court Judge.........in place of retiring Litvinenko Inquiry Chair

The retirement of Owen J will see Andrew Edis QC appointed to the High Court bench on 1st October.  He was the prosecution lead in the phone hacking trial as well as in the Huhn and Pryce case.  Sounds like he deserves it.......

Sir Robert Owen meanwhile will spend the first part of his retirement inquiring into Litvinenko's death given the Home Secretary's recently well timed volte face and he made the following opening statement today:
https://www.litvinenkoinquest.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Suspension-of-Inquest-and-Opening-of-Public-Inquiry.pdf  

which included this which will be of interest to the Russian Govt:

Because of the sensitivity of the HMG evidence, it is inevitable that at least some of my final report

will also have to remain secret. But I make it clear now that I intend to make public my final conclusion on the issue of Russian State responsibility, together with as much as possible of my reasoning in that regard.  I should add that HM Government has made a restriction notice under section 19 of the 2005 Act, the effect of which will be to require that specified sensitive material is considered in closed session, and may make further restriction notices. I intend to make the open  parts of such notices available on the inquiry website.

The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Andrew Jeremy Coulter Edis QC, to be a Justice of the High Court with effect from 1 October 2014 on the retirement of Mr. Justice Owen on 19 July.

The Lord Chief Justice will assign Mr Edis to the Queen’s Bench Division.

Notes for editors

Mr Edis, 55, was called to the Bar (M) in 1980 and took Silk in 1997. He was appointed a Recorder in 1999 and is approved to sit as a deputy High Court Judge.

Mr. Justice Owen was called to the Bar (I) in 1968 and took Silk in 1988. He was appointed a Recorder in 1987 and a judge of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court in 2001.

Most successful Govt policy ever

Went to an Employment Tribunal yesterday where I have been appearing for over 15 years.  Used to queue out the door and on CMD/PHR days EJs would have multiple cases listed in front of them leading to a long wait in the Respondent's waiting room (which is where I usually find myself).  Cases took years to be listed and if you did get a listing you would be floating for days on end.....

Yesterday with fees, enforced conciliation and the unfair dismissal 2 year rule fully kicked in - there was literally nobody there.  My case was the only one listed. The Judge looked surprised that he/she had a real case to deal with; took longer than he/she needed to hearing the case and when it came to listing it for final hearing could offer any day we wanted in the next 6 months........

Turns out this BBC story is true:

There were 5,619 cases between January and March this year compared with 13,739 in the same period in 2013.
Thats a Govt policy which has worked - employment claims have been well and truly stifled.  Well Done!  Business now free to do what is wants and employees left with little access to justice.

Excellent.  Now all they need to do is starting consulting the Judges and Tribunal staff over their redundancy rights.......

Better find myself another area to specialise in..........

Once again, it is lawyers to the rescue......

Got a serious problem which you can't deal with in-house?  Don't worry civil servant, get a former/ judge/top QC in to sort it?

The Home Office is appointing Rt Hon the Baroness Butler-Sloss of March Green GBE, former President of the Fam D to lead its independent inquiry panel of experts in the law and child protection to consider whether public bodies – and other non-state institutions – have taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse - but which will not have any powers of compulsion to have evidence given or delivered to it (curiously in order to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings?) - although if that becomes an issue:  if the inquiry panel chairman deems it necessary – the government is prepared to convert it into a full public inquiry in line with the Inquiries Act. Lady Butler-Sloss was the Diana Coroner until she stepped down, is 5 years over the long stop judicial retirement age and now has a lot on her hands.  Good luck to Her Ladyship.....

Turns out she may not be the right choice after all...... http://lawyerwatch.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/a-few-thoughts-on-the-butler-sloss-controversy/

It is also appointing Richard Whittam QC, First Senior Treasury Counsel at the Central Criminal Court (HMG's top prosecutor at the Bailey) to review its own review into

where certain 114 files have gone missing.....let's hope he can find them or a convincing reason for their disappearance..........