
Silence on Hong Kong judges in lady chief justice's international plan
Much hoopla recently as Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, the lady chief justice, unveiled the 2025-29 international engagement strategy for judges in England and Wales.
'The unique judicial diplomacy,' Carr's office said, would 'promote the rule of law, improve the administration of justice and strengthen economic growth.' Carr herself argued that the efforts were accomplished on a shoestring, wryly noting that on a budget of £169,000 the programme had 'engaged with 52 countries and welcomed over 100 visiting judges from jurisdictions worldwide, from Australia to Nepal and from Tanzania to Japan'.
All very noble work, but absent from Carr's remarks and the judicial office's document was any mention of Hong Kong, arguably the most controversial of jurisdictions on the English judiciary's map. Two prominent English judges
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Middlesbrough man who raped two women has jail term challenged
A rapist who attacked two women within an hour of each other will have his sentence reviewed over concerns it is too Ali, of Ayresome Road, Middlesbrough, was jailed for 10 years after raping his victims in separate late-night attacks in Stockton last Attorney General's Office confirmed his sentence would be considered at the Court of Appeal on 17 June, after it was referred under the unduly lenient sentencing had initially denied the charges, claiming the sex was consensual, but was convicted following a trial at Teesside Crown Court. The court was told Ali raped the first woman at the side of a derelict building near Yarm Road, at about midnight on 7 September was captured running away on CCTV .An hour later, he attacked a second woman in the same place after she had been walking along Spring Street. In a victim statement read out in court, one of the women said: "I was in so much pain after the attack, I feel horrible inside.''I had the daily struggle leading up to the trial thinking he would get away with it."Cleveland Police praised the ''courage and determination'' of the victims for coming forward and helping bring Ali to justice. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.


Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
English classes for migrants face the axe under Reform-led council
A Reform-led council could abolish English language classes for immigrants, its leader has said. Linden Kemkaran, the new leader of Kent county council, has launched an investigation into how much the authority is paying for English lessons. And the Reform UK councillor, who is trying to tackle the council's £780 million debt, said the classes were 'going' if they did not provide 'value for money'. She told the Daily T podcast: 'I have asked my cabinet member to find me the figures and show me how much it's costing us, and if I don't think that's value for money for the taxpayer it's going, simple as that.' It comes as part of Reform's push at local government level to root out waste, influenced by the work of Elon Musk's department of government efficiency (Doge) in the US. 'They can use Duolingo' Cllr Kemkaran, whose council is the largest led by Reform, told the podcast that immigrants could use language apps such as Duolingo free. She explained: 'I've just come out of my first informal cabinet meeting five minutes ago, talking to my cabinet member for education and skills. 'She has found out that Kent county council is paying for classes in adult education centres up and down the county that are teaching English as a second language. 'Now I'm saying to my cabinet member, 'Could we look into this? How much is this costing us? Why are we paying to teach people English as a second language? Shouldn't the onus be on the individual if you come to this country?' 'You can use Duolingo on your phone for nothing. You can use apps.' Local authorities in England are allotted Central Government funding from the Department for Education to offer adult education programmes. That budget is used to fund provision for a range of programmes, such as technical qualifications, maths, digital skills and English as a Foreign Language (ESOL) courses. Local authorities can decide how to allocate the cash, subject to statutory requirements. Kent county council could in principle stop funding ESOL provision and direct the money elsewhere. The council cannot choose, however, to use the central Government funding for anything other than adult skills programmes. Some councils put additional money into funding adult education courses, but it is unclear if Kent does so. Asked whether her position was compatible with Reform's push for migrants to speak English to integrate, she said: 'We can absolutely be Reformers cancelling English classes for people who don't speak the lingo, if it's costing KCC a lot of money'. Cllr Kemkaran said she would also be looking into whether the classes could be done remotely to save money. Kent is the first council in England to have a Doge unit set up, and the leader confirmed she had created a Doge position in her council cabinet, as well as a 'deputy Doge' role. A report into opportunity and integration led by Baroness Casey in 2016 recommended that community-based English language provision be improved to bolster social cohesion. In 2020, Robert Jenrick, as communities minister, announced a £5.1 million fund to provide language classes in 30 areas across England, which he said would help immigrants to make a 'positive contribution to the UK'. Funding has also been given in grants from the Education and Skills Funding Agency, now part of the Department for Education, since 2007. The number of students starting funded ESOL courses fell by 36 per cent between 2009-10 and 2016-17, the most up-to-date figures. Government funding from the adult education budget fell more sharply, by 56 per cent in real terms over the same period.


BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
Lancashire: £10m boost for council drug and alcohol support services
Lancashire County Council has been handed more than £10m by the government to prevent drug and alcohol-related deaths and help those with addiction authority said the cash, which has been put together by consolidating other grants for services like recovery programs and housing schemes for vulnerable people, was one of the largest amounts allocated across England. A council spokesperson said it would be used to pay for services like mental health support for those with substance abuse problems and drug education in Councillor Daniel Matchett, who works as a mental health nurse, said the funding was welcome as he had seen the "devastation" caused by drugs first-hand. Councillors have approved the allocation of the £10m grant by the Department of Health and Social is aimed at funding improved treatment, cutting crime and preventing drug and alcohol-related said: "It is a significant amount of funding. "There is a real focus on improving the quality of treatment and making sure more people can access this, which will help prevent drug and alcohol-related deaths in the county."Among the services that will be supported by the grant are addiction recovery help out-of-hours as well as additional weekend support, and inpatient detox also includes funding for training to professionals in schools and improved support for those in the criminal justice system. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.