Latest news with #legalaid
The Sun
3 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Convicted murderer and ‘Islamist fanatic' gets thousands in legal aid to argue about his anxiety
A CONVICTED murderer has got thousands in legal aid to argue that separating him from other lags made him feel too anxious. Islamic convert Denny De Silva, 32 — said to be an 'extremist enforcer' — had taxpayers fund his human rights challenge. He has previously been found guilty of smuggling in phones to share IS material and there were complaints he was battering other inmates at HMP Full Sutton, East Yorks. He was sent to a separation unit but in January went to the High Court to argue limiting access to the gym, library, and educational opportunities violated his right to a private life under the European Court of Human Rights. He won the case — adding more to his legal aid bill. De Silva had already run up costs of £42,000 for barristers and £24,000 for solicitors at his 2016 murder trial. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: 'This shocking case shows how the ECHR is has become a charter for criminals. "I couldn't care less if a dangerous Islamist fanatic has 'anxiety' from separation centres. 'Governors must be able to lock up radicalising prisoners in isolation without worrying about mad human rights laws.' De Silva was jailed in 2016 for a minimum of 27 years for shooting dead a gangland rival. He converted to Islam in prison but is said to intimidate and incite other Muslim prisoners. The Ministry of Justice confirmed the £66,000 figure was correct but billing was not finalised. Inside evil Southport killer's cushy jail life where he STILL gets Maltesers, crisps & other treats despite guard attack 1
Telegraph
5 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Manchester terrorist was granted taxpayer money in religious discrimination claim
The Manchester Arena terrorist who seriously injured three prison officers in a knife attack was granted £1,200 in taxpayers' money for legal aid to pursue a complaint of religious discrimination. Hashem Abedi's lawyers were granted the money to fight the complaint, which he lodged from his high-security prison cell. It was rejected by the Ministry of Justice, and he did not pursue it any further. It came on top of the legal aid his lawyers got to fight his trial defence, even though he refused to take part in the court process. Figures disclosed under freedom of information laws showed the funds paid to his legal team now stand at £354,015. The alleged religious discrimination happened before Abedi, serving a life sentence for his part in 22 murders in the Manchester Arena attack, used two home-made knives and hot cooking oil to assault three prison officers at high-security HMP Frankland, in County Durham. He was being held in a separation unit for Islamist prisoners when he mounted the attack, and has since been moved to HMP Belmarsh, in south London. It is understood the case concerned a claim lodged on March 28 last year regarding searches of religious headwear. He was jailed in 2020 for a minimum of 55 years for helping his suicide bomber brother Salman kill 22 Ariana Grande fans in 2017. In 2022, he was given another three years and 10 months for attacking two officers at Belmarsh Prison. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: 'This is just another outrageous example of taxpayers' money being wasted on a convicted mass killer.' A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'Hashem Abedi never received a penny of taxpayers' money – legal aid went directly to lawyers. We resisted his legal claim, and he did not pursue it further.' MoJ sources said the £1,256 civil legal aid was paid directly to legal representatives, not to Abedi himself. The MoJ strongly denied liability, and no damages or additional legal costs were paid by it. Officials said the Legal Aid Agency operates independently from ministers when making decisions on individual applications for funding. Civil legal aid is subject to a merits test and a strict means test based on eligibility criteria set out in legislation.
BreakingNews.ie
27-05-2025
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Teen (17) guilty of using hammer and hatchet during attack on woman held in Dublin flat
A youth has signed guilty pleas to charges of using a hammer and a hatchet in a gang attack on a woman held in a flat in Dublin last year. The 17-year-old boy is accused of false imprisonment and assault causing harm to the complainant, 37, at Henrietta House, Dublin 7, on September 26th. Advertisement The teen, who cannot be named because he is a minor, is also accused of producing a metal pole, hammer, and hatchet during the incident. In March, Judge Brendan Toale held that the case was too serious to be kept in the Children's Court, where a preliminary hearing was told the boy had "a significant role from start to finish". Following a two-month adjournment, the teenager appeared there again with family and his lawyer. He signed a guilty plea on all the charges before Judge Toale granted an order sending him forward for sentencing in the Circuit Court, which has greater sentencing powers. Advertisement Legal aid was granted to the youth who will face his next hearing in June. Earlier, the defence emphasised that the teenager was vulnerable, less culpable, and had responded to a 5.40 am call to get involved in the incident, which was connected to a drug debt and "would not have been able to say no, go away." The boy had no prior convictions. Judge Toale agreed with the DPP that the case should go forward to the higher court. Advertisement The prosecution had disclosed 200 pages of evidence, including text message reports, to the defence. The prosecution also contended that the accused was involved in a joint enterprise with the others and that he had a significant role from start to finish. And the court heard it was alleged the boy had used the weapons named in the charges. Judge Toale noted video evidence and an outline of the facts assembled by the investigation team. Defence solicitor Aonghus McCarthy had pleaded with the judge to deal with the boy in the Children's Court. He cited a forensic psychological report and the detrimental effects of the teen's background of parental drug abuse and incarceration, which made him a trauma victim. He also stressed that the teenager now had greater support from his wider family, had changed his peers, and had a job offer. However, the judge refused jurisdiction. Eight men aged between 20 and 54 are before the courts on connected charges.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Have you applied for legal aid in the last 15 years? Millions of Brits' addresses and personal information could now be in the hands of hackers after cyber attack
More than a million people who applied for legal aid may be at risk of fraud after hackers stole data from claims going back 15 years in a major cyber attack. The Ministry of Justice conceded on Sunday that a devastating cyber attack last month was far worse than initially assessed after hackers revealed they had stolen millions of pieces of sensitive information. Court cases across the country will be affected after hackers forced the main system for managing legal aid offline in the attack. Lawyers have blamed the 'antiquated' IT system used by the Legal Aid Agency as it emerged that more than a million people could be at risk of fraud or extortion, including claimants and their lawyers who have submitted applications since 2010. The stolen data includes contact details and addresses of legal aid applicants, their dates of birth, national insurance numbers, criminal records, employment status and financial data such as contribution amounts, debts and payments. The banking details of lawyers paid for criminal and civil cases are also at risk. Official figures show that about 85,500 legal aid certificates were issued for criminal cases in the crown courts, with another 940,000 for the magistrates' courts in the last year alone. There were also nearly 109,000 civil claim certificates granted, with another 7,100 allocated for mediation schemes that exist outside of court. Officials were unable to say exactly how many people had been affected yesterday, but confirmed that a 'significant amount of personal data' had been downloaded during the attack on April 23. Days later on May 1, the Daily Mail received information about a serious cyber attack crippling the court system. But the Ministry of Justice denied at the time that any such attack had happened. Yesterday officials stressed that they were unable to provide information because the target of the attack was the legal aid system, not the wider court system. The system, which is used by legal aid providers to log their work and get paid by the Government, has remained offline. Hackers claim to have accessed around 2.1million pieces of data. Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, said: 'This is at the more serious end of data breaches because of the national insurance numbers, plus criminal records, plus the financial transactions about benefits and employment status. 'That's very useful to fraudsters, criminals and extorters on the criminal record side. That's a pretty bad one.' Chris Minnoch, the chief executive of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, warned that the hack could disrupt live cases saying: 'Legal aid providers generally operate within very tight or even non-existent financial margins... so disruption to LAA processes is a serious problem. There is also the issue of how the disruption will impact on live proceedings.' Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, a professional body that represents solicitors, said: 'It is extremely concerning that members of the public have had their personal data compromised in this cyber security incident and the LAA must get a grip on the situation immediately. 'The incident once again demonstrates the need for sustained investment to bring the LAA's antiquated IT system up to date and ensure the public have continued trust in the justice system.' It is understood the attack happened as the MoJ has been working on replacing the internal system with a new version hoped to be up and running in the coming weeks. Officials blamed 'long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last government' yesterday. Legal Aid Agency chief executive Jane Harbottle said: 'I understand this news will be shocking and upsetting for people and I am extremely sorry this has happened. 'Since the discovery of the attack, my team has been working around the clock with the National Cyber Security Centre to bolster the security of our systems so we can safely continue the vital work of the agency. 'However, it has become clear that, to safeguard the service and its users, we needed to take radical action. That is why we've taken the decision to take the online service down.' It is the latest serious cyber attack to affect the public sector and comes after a series of retail companies were targeted, including Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods. An attack in June last year on Synnovis, an NHS pathology lab, disrupted patient care at south London hospitals and two Liverpool hospitals were affected by cyberattacks in December. Transport for London had its systems crippled by an attack in September last year that cost tens of millions of pounds. The UK's cyber security agency has warned that 'hostile nation states' led by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are believed to be at the forefront of malign online activity, along with groups using ransomware to extort money. Last week Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre said: 'We've managed more than 200 incidents since September. That includes twice as many nationally significant incidents as the same period a year ago.'
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hackers strike UK's legal aid agency and compromise data of lawyers and clients
LONDON (AP) — Britain's justice department said Monday that it shut down online services for legal aid recipients and the lawyers paid to help them after a cyberattack compromised personal information including criminal records, national insurance numbers and payment details. The Ministry of Justice said it learned on April 23 that online digital services at the Legal Aid Agency had been hacked, but realized Friday that it was more extensive than it had known. 'I understand this news will be shocking and upsetting for people and I am extremely sorry this has happened," said Jane Harbottle, chief executive of Legal Aid. 'To safeguard the service and its users, we needed to take radical action. That is why we've taken the decision to take the online service down." Hackers claimed they had access to 2.1 million pieces of data, though the government did not confirm that figure. The agency provides civil and criminal legal assistance to those who can't afford a lawyer. The online system is used by providers to log work to get paid. A 'significant amount of personal data' going back 15 years was exposed by the breach, including addresses of people applying for legal help, birth dates, criminal history, employment status and financial information, the ministry said. The National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre have been working with the agency since the intrusion. Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said the had drawn attention to the need to update the agency's antiquated information technology. 'The fragility of the IT system has prevented vital reforms, including updates to the means test that could help millions more access legal aid, and interim payments for firms whose cash flow is being decimated by the backlogs in the courts, through no fault of their own,' Atkinson said. 'If it is now also proving vulnerable to cyber attack, further delay is untenable." The Associated Press
