The Policing Bill

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a piece of legislation that includes significant government proposals on crime and justice in England and Wales. A particularly important part of the bill covers changes to protests.

Currently, the police have to show that a protest will result in “serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community” to place restrictions. In the case of major events, details are usually discussed with organisers in advance.

Under the new bill, police will be able to enforce stricter conditions on static protests such as start and finish times and noise limits. Furthermore, a section introduces the new statutory offence of “intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance”. This means that a person can be liable to be imprisoned for up to ten years if convicted of “serious annoyance” or “serious inconvenience”.

Other shocking sections of the bill include similarly high sentences imposed on those convicted of causing damage to statues and memorials. It can be presumed that this is a response to the tearing down of slave trader Colston’s statue in Bristol by Black Lives Matter protestors.

Labour MP, Peter Kyle, importantly points out that an “angry mob” that throws a statue into a harbour “and then turns around and throws a woman or child into the water” would be punished more harshly for the first offence than that against a living person. The possible ten years imprisonment is double the length of the maximum sentence for assault causing actual bodily harm.

The 300-page document is filled with changes to various aspects of justice. But, this bill threatens the human rights of the public by restricting the right to protest so much that even a single individual peacefully holding up a sign could be penalised for breaching conditions they “ought to have known”.

The Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill

This piece of legislation amends Part II of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to allow public bodies to authorise covert human intelligence sources to engage in criminal activities (including rape, murder, and torture) with immunity from punishment.

Passing this bill would approve serious violations of the European Convention on Human Rights, and set itself apart from international human rights standards.

Judicial Review 

“Judicial review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.” Fundamentally, these reviews are a challenge to the way a decision has been made by public bodies such as local councils, government departments, police forces, or health authorities. 

The former supreme court justice Lord Sumption claimed that there is evidence of excessive and inappropriate use of judicial review to overturn government decisions.

However, Gina miller, legal campaigner and winner of a Supreme court battle against the government said she is concerned about proposals to restrict judicial review. She argues “there needs to be an increase [of legal scrutiny of government decisions]” to uphold social justice.

The Right to Peaceful Protest Jeopardised

These three pieces of legislation attack peoples’ rights to protest -threatening democracy. Furthermore, Boyd emphasises that “one of the fundamental rights in jeopardy is access to justice and changes to judicial review are a threat to that basic right”.

His comments followed the campaign group, Not1More’s, plead to the UN urging intervention to protect the rights of peaceful protesters in the UK. The London-based group highlighted that all three of these pieces of legislation would make “people who wish to access their democratic right to peaceful protest more vulnerable to undue restrictions, arbitrary detention and/or invasive policing”.

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Hong Kong is in the middle of a political crisis. The 2019 protests over the extradition bill turned into unrest over lack of democracy and police brutality. Apple Daily, a pro-democratic Hong Kong newspaper, had its assets frozen this week by the government. The question is whether Apple Daily is going to be legitimately shut down or is it a continuation of suppressing pro-democratic activities in Hong Kong?

What’s Apple Daily?

Apple Daily is a Hong Kong newspaper that was founded in 1995 by Jimmy Lai. He named it after the forbidden fruit that biblical Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat. It could refer to the nature of Apple Daily’s editorial position. Apple Daily was shown to be very pro-democratic, criticizing the Hong Kong government and supporting protestors, e.g. 2014 students protestors.

Its active social presence contributed to its mainstream pro-activist nature. Additionally, Apple Daily tends to be critical of China, commenting on its cyberattacks and leadership. With such a volatile nature, it is no surprise the Hong Kong government took a closer look at Apple Daily and its activities.

Hong Kong National Security Law

On 30 June 2020, China passed the national security law for Hong Kong. The critics claim that the law was not only passed in uncertain conditions but that the scope is wide and, possibly, dangerous. According to Amnesty International, the wording “endangering national security” in the scope is too broad. The national security law tightens control over scholars, journalists and social media, as well as grants new, extensive powers to investigating authorities. Apple Daily sounds like a treat to this new law.

Apple Daily’s In Danger

Apple Daily had been under scrutiny for a long time. It survived raids, boycotts campaigns and an arrest of Jimmy Lai in 2020. Jimmy Lai was initially arrested for participating in the protests, however, more charges were added under the national security law (“secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces”). Despite the turmoil, Apple Daily stood tall.

However, only this week, the pressure, which was increasing for months, finally reached its tipping point. The police arrested the top editors of Apple Daily (5 executives), froze its assets (about $2.3 million) and raided its newsroom.

The arrests happened on the suspicion of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” and the newsroom was declared a crime scene. The officials denied the raid being a threat to the freedom of speech as Apple Daily journalists were “different from normal journalists” as they “endangered national security”.

The Future of Apple Daily

Apple Daily confirmed they would keep writing and publishing as usual, however, with its assets frozen, the newspaper will be unable to pay staff members or vendors. Recently, it was confirmed that a meeting about the future of the company would take place this week.

People expressed their support for Daily Apple by queuing to buy their newspaper. The paper typically prints about 80,000 copies but increased that to 500,000 to meet demand. It shows that what was seen as a massive threat to national security by the government is widely supported by Hong Kong citizens. Yet, it remains unclear for how long the newspaper can keep going. The next week will be crucial in showing if Apple Daily will survive.

Conclusion

“An apple a day keeps a doctor away”. However, it remains to be seen whether the popular support will be enough to keep the governmental scrutiny at bay. Hong Kong’s struggles continue and Apple Daily’s newsroom is a battlefield of democracy. In a week time, we should see the results and count the victims.

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We know that working there is a lifestyle you have to dedicate yourself (and especially your time) to and that it is rewarded with the most reputable clients and exciting cases along with perks such as on-site badminton courts and fancy bottles of champagne – but what is it like working there? Trainee solicitors, Emily at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Vicky Chen at Allen & Overy have given us a glimpse into life at a Magic Circle firm.

A typical day

Emily – “My day varies significantly depending on which of my matters is top of my agenda for that day. I am sat in disputes at the moment, so my day usually involves some legal research and typing a note on findings, maybe some document review, drafting sections in pleadings, drafting correspondence, and attending calls with the Freshfields matter team and the client. In my first seat (general corporate), I did more contract drafting, contractual analysis, due diligence and liaising with other Freshfields offices (and local counsel where required) for international aspects of the deal.

Across most seats, you tend to have one or two calls/meetings a day (either internal with the Freshfields team, or external with a client) where overall progress or team business is discussed. I usually then have a few diversity, pro bono or graduate recruitment things a week to get involved with, so things can get busy!”

Vicky – “Something really common is just reading emails…sometimes you’d even get like 200 emails in a day. As a trainee, you’ll be spending a lot of your time doing deal management work, so it’s really important to keep on top of everything.

I also spend time updating a workstream tracker based on the calls I listen on, revising how different tasks have progressed. It’s actually a nice way of speaking to lots of different people on the team and even gets a lot of client contact – you’re regularly asking them about where things are progressing with them and stuff like that. It does change day-to-day, but you do have an opportunity to get used to things too.”

One of the main advantages of working at a Magic Circle firm is the resources that are offered. As a trainee, you won’t be asked to do any work that doesn’t require the legal knowledge you’ve acquired, which often means you’re more involved in the exciting parts of cases.

Clients

Much of the prestige of working at the Magic Circle comes from the magnitude of the work, which plays a pivotal role in UK business and the world economy. They’re “doing front page of the Financial Times work”.

A standout case for Vicky was an award-winning restructuring deal of Virgin Atlantic.

Vicky – “Given that they have a lot of aircraft leases, maintenance obligations, fees on storage and so on, Virgin Atlantic as an airline was struggling during COVID… I worked for one of the shareholders.
Because Virgin Atlantic and the shareholder have different priorities, we weren’t allowed to say anything to our colleagues about what we were doing, and they couldn’t say anything to us, which was funny because we’re all in the same department in the same law firm.

We were involved in trying to find new money to put into Virgin Atlantic to help it stay afloat until all this craziness ends.

We got a really good result for everyone and it was really interesting to see the different considerations that the stakeholder has compared to the actual company in distress.”

But fee-paying clients aren’t the only focus of these firms.

Emily – “Fee earners of all levels, including trainees, are encouraged to take part in pro bono opportunities. Since joining the firm last year, I have worked on both one-off opportunities and long-running pro bono matters. We don’t have targets as trainees, but pro bono client hours are counted the same as fee-paying clients when considering associate targets.

Also, colleague networks are very active at Freshfields, and everyone is encouraged to get involved whether you are a member of that group or not. I am a committee member for the Associated Women’s Network and the Social Mobility Network, both of which organise a range of internal and external events.”

Why the Magic Circle?

Emily – “When considering my applications in my second year of university, I created a list of priorities showing all the things I wanted from my training contract. These points included best quality training, biggest and most complex deals, a social culture, and Freshfields was top of my list for all of those. I also received a lot of support from Aspiring Solicitors, who helped me distil my priorities and, again, Freshfields came out as a great fit for me.”

Vicky – “Something about such an established training program is that it will give you top-notch training and the resources are incredible. That meant a lot to me because I think it’s so important to get a really good start in your career.

Also, it’s so interesting, and the opportunity to work on these top-of-the-market deals is just really exciting. It makes a big difference – especially when you’re working hard and you have long hours – and makes it worthwhile knowing the bigger context of how this affects the market, industry, and people.”

What has surprised you most about working as a trainee?

Emily – “Probably how much responsibility you are given from day one! Trainees at Freshfields are expected to be competent and proactive – if you are willing to step up, the rest of the team will let you take ownership of tasks and workstreams.”

Advice for aspiring Magic Circle lawyers

Emily – “It’s not as scary as it’s sometimes made out to be! After signing my TC, I remember my tutors at university warning me to expect very long hours of really hard work. Being a trainee can indeed be difficult, but there are some great parts of the job that are overlooked – the work is super interesting, and I’ve met some of my favourite people ever in my intake.”

Vicky – “Really throw yourself into every experience you have and learn from them. Even travelling or your hobbies or whatever it is, if you’re able to, really take away lessons from those experiences. Then if you can translate that into skills and knowledge and show that you can offer something that makes you different from everyone else applying, that will put you in really good stead.”

Ready to take on the challenge?

Magic Circle firms have many similarities, but they are also individual firms with their own cultures, priorities and expertise. So, don’t get blinded by the prestige and make sure you do your research to find the right environment for you.

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Grieve’s comments follow fresh on the heels of those made by the PM’s former advisor, Dominic Cummings, who around this time last year infamously broke lockdown to ‘test his eyesight’ by driving to Barnard Castle.

Cummings – who served as an unelected official in Johnson’s cabinet – attacked the PM in a post on his online blog when it was revealed that Johnson had private text messages with the British entrepreneur, James Dyson. Johnson, who has a long history of using his mobile phone for political activity, personally guaranteed Dyson that his employees would not pay additional tax rates if they came to the UK to make ventilators, claiming: ‘I will fix it tomo!‘

Cummings, who may himself be wary that the spotlight could quickly turn on his own conduct during the Brexit campaign, was accused by No. 10 of leaking Johnson’s texts to Dyson. Multiple government insiders expressed their bafflement over the PM’s handling of Cummings’ departure, which set the stage for what is being called “Cummings’ revenge”.

Having only left Downing Street in November, the PM’s former aide criticized Johnson as having behaved in a ‘mad and unethical’ manner, claiming that ‘it is sad to see the PM and his office fall so far below the standards of competence and integrity the country deserves’.

Cummings also criticised Johnson’s lack of transparency over how the PM paid for the renovation of his flat at No. 11 Downing Street, which reportedly cost up to £200,000, in which he lives with his fiance and child. Labour’s Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, told Andrew Marr on Sunday that the British public deserves answers: ‘Where are you getting money, Boris, to do up your flat?’

Liz Truss, the International Trade Secretary, told Sky’s Sophy Ridge that Johnson paid out of his back pocket, but questions remain as to where he got the money. Cummings referred to a secret plan in which Johnson used political donations, which he described as ‘unethical, foolish, possibly illegal’.

It was revealed in an Opinium poll for The Observer that four out of 10 voters think the Conservatives are untrustworthy, in a snapshot taken before Cummings’ blog post on Friday. The Tories, who have enjoyed a period of favourable polling after the success of the vaccine rollout, still stand eleven points ahead of Labour (44% to 33%), but 37% of respondents described Johnson as mostly or completely corrupt, compared with 31% who described him as honest. 38% described the Conservative Party as a whole as corrupt, compared with another 31% who described it as honest.

This compares with a drastically lower 16% of respondents who described the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, as corrupt, and 40% who described him as clean and honest, with 22% of respondents describing the Labour Party itself as corrupt. Matt Hancock, who has been under fire for his distribution of Covid contracts and failure to disclose business links, was also described by 33% of respondents as corrupt.

Labour has described the Tories as ‘fighting like rats in a sack’ and showing ‘breathtaking contempt for the British public’. With local elections less than two weeks away, the potential political damage for the party will be revealed very shortly.

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