June 2010 North Area Committee.
On Thursday the 10th of June 2010 I attended Cambridge City Council’s North Area Committee. The meeting started at 18.30 to consider planning applications but the main agenda was not scheduled to begin until 19.30. When I arrived at just before 19.30 councillors were still debating the first of three planning [...]
Julian Huppert’s Maiden Speech
At 17.41 on Wednesday the 26th of May 2010 Cambridge’s newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert made his maiden speech to the House of Commons:
Thank you for giving me this chance to speak so early in this Parliament, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is great to see you in the Chair. [...]
Observing History - Heathrow Robbery Trial Starts Without Jury
Supporters of the defendants in the UK’s first modern criminal trial where a jury has been denied placed banners on the railings outside the Royal Courts of Justice.
This morning I went to the Royal Courts of Justice to personally witness the start of the first modern [...]
The Royal Courts of Justice. The country’s great cathedral of justice is reduced to a mere reminder of a past era by the government’s erosion of the right to trial by jury. (Photo credit: antmoose)
The first criminal trial without a jury in modern times is to begin on Tuesday the 12th of January 2009. [...]
In September 2008 I responded to a consultation entitled Confidence and confidentiality: openness in family courts - a new approach run by the Ministry of Justice. I agreed with the following main points:
The current court rules on disclosure need to be amended to allow for wider disclosure of information in cases involving children [...]