Monthly News Archives: April 2023

Law Pod UK new episode: Multi-defendant cases: the more the merrier?

24 April 2023 by Lucy McCann

In Episode 183 Lucy McCann speaks to Cara Guthrie and Matthew Flinn of 1 Crown Office Row about multi-defendant litigation in the field of clinical negligence. The discussion covers, who to sue, the costs implications of having multiple defendants, contribution proceedings, apportioning liability between defendants, and interim payment applications.

Cases mentioned in this episode:

Webb v Barclays Bank plc [2001] EWCA Civ 1141

Rachman v Arearose Ltd [2000] EWCA Civ 190

Widdowson’s Executrix v Liberty Insurance Ltd [2021] CSOH 15

Cartwright v Venduct Engineering Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1654

Ho v Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43

Bullock v London General Omnibus Co [1907] 1 KB 264, CA

Sanderson v Blyth Theatre Co [1903] 2 KB 533, CAA

Moon v Garrett [2006] EWCA Civ 1121

Wright v Cambridge Medical Group [2011] EWCA 669

Wagenaar v Weekend Travel Ltd t/a Ski Weekend [2014] EWCA Civ 1105

Jackson v Murray [2015] UKSC 5

ZZZ v Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 1642 (QB)

For the latest developments in medical law, see 1 Crown Office Row’s Quarterly Medical Law Review (QMLR)

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The Michael Schumacher “Interview”

24 April 2023 by Rosalind English

It has been widely reported that the German magazine Die Aktuelle recently ran a front cover with a picture of a smiling Schumacher and the headline promising ‘Michael Schumacher, the first interview’.

The strapline added: “it sounded deceptively real”.

Anyone walking past a news stand would have assumed that this was a genuine interview with the former Formula 1 driver, who has suffered catastrophic brain injury since a skiing accident in 2013. Only buyers of the edition would have learned from the full article inside, that the ‘quotes’ had been produced by AI.

The news agency Reuter reports that “Schumacher’s family maintains strict privacy about the former driver’s condition, with access limited to those closest to him.”

And in a 2021 Netflix documentary his wife Corinna said

Weekly round-up: Dominic Raab resignation, Fox news settlement, love-bombing.

24 April 2023 by Hal McNulty

Dominic Raab has resigned as deputy prime minister after a bullying inquiry vindicated a number of civil servants’ claims about his behaviour as a minister in the cabinets of Boris Johnson and Theresa May. The report of Andrew Tolley KC held that Raab’s behaviour constituted an “abuse or misuse of power,” citing instances of an intimidating and discouraging attitude towards the civil servants he worked with. Tolley referred to the ruling of the High Court in the 2021 case concerning the behaviour of Priti Patel towards civil servants, in which it was provided that harassment and bullying through intimidating and insulting behaviour were not consistent with the Ministerial Code. In his resignation letter, Raab said that Tolley’s findings were “flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government … it will encourage spurious complaints against ministers.”   

The lawsuit between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News was settled before trial with a $786.5m pay-out. The voting machines company alleged that Fox news presenters knowingly made false claims that it had rigged the 2020 presidential election result for Biden, while the news corporation framed their defence as a protection of free speech. To win at trial, Dominion’s claims faced a high bar: they would have had to prove that Fox’s statements were made in ‘actual malice,’ meaning either the corporation knowingly made the false statements or acted with reckless disregard for their falsity. Documents released to the public revealed the commercial pressures on executives and presenters to appeal to pro-Trump viewers. Commentators suggest Fox owner Rupert Murdoch wanted to avoid cross-examination of himself and his news stars at trial. The news company still faces a similar lawsuit from voting technology company, Smartmatic, which released a statement claiming that “Fox needed a villain. Without any true villain, defendants invented one.”

Weekly Round-Up: NHS strikes, Sudan in crisis, and US intelligence leaks

17 April 2023 by Grace Storrie

In the news

The NHS faced further strike action this week, with 47,000 junior doctors participating in a four-day walkout. The Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, has said the British Medical Association’s (BMA) demand for a pay restoration to 2008 levels is ‘unreasonable’. Negotiations have stalled over the effective 35% pay rise demand. Meanwhile, on Friday the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced a new 48-hour strike set to take place 30 May. The announcement of fresh strikes and continued discontent amongst junior doctors has fuelled speculation about the possibility of synchronised action between the BMA and RCN. While there are currently no plans for coordinated strikes, the BMA has refused to rule out the possibility of a concerted effort between the unions. Relatedly, the strike ballot for consultant doctors has been delayed until the 15 May.

On Saturday, violence erupted in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan. The country has become increasingly unstable since President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in 2019 and a coup in 2021 which replaced a fragile military-civilian government with exclusive military rule. This most recent violence is part of a long-standing rivalry between the head of the country’s armed forces, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Gen Mohamad Hamdan Dagalo. The clashes have extended across the country and at least 56 civilians have been killed and a further 595 wounded. The World Food Programme announced three of its employees have been killed in the clashes, causing the organisation to suspend operations in the region.

Weekly Round-Up: defining “sex”, facial recognition, and Windrush recommendations

12 April 2023 by Anna Moody

IN THE NEWS

Controversial facial recognition technology that was ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal for breach of privacy and equality rights in 2020 is due to be resumed for use by the South Wales Police. This follows a report commissioned with the Metropolitan Police, which apparently justifies the use of technology in certain settings. However, Liberty’s campaign highlights prevailing concerns about the technology as “oppressive”, in breach of privacy rights and causing increased race and sex discrimination.

On the five year anniversary of the Windrush scandal, the Black Equity Organisation announced that they are seeking judicial review over Suella Braverman for breach of the government’s Equality Act 2010 obligations. This challenges her decision to disregard key reform recommendations that were made as part of Wendy Williams’ Windrush Lessons Learned Review, 2020 which the Home Office had originally promised to implement. Over 50,000 people had signed a petition urging Suella Braverman to re-think her decision to drop key recommendations of the review, but as it stands, her decision is not to hold reconciliation events or to review and extend the powers of the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration. Whether this will be held “unlawful” under the Equality Act, as the Black Equity Organisation have suggested, remains to be seen. 

Covid and Free Speech in the High Court

11 April 2023 by Thomas Hayes

Introduction

On 5 April 2023 the High Court handed down judgment in Adil v General Medical Council [2023] EWHC 797 (Admin). The case examined the extent to which a professional regulator can interfere with the right to freedom of expression of an individual subject to its regulation, as well as the circumstances in which the Court should accept challenges to decisions made by regulators in the performance of their duties. It is the first case decided by the High Court concerning anti-vaccination statements made by a doctor in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the actions of the General Medical Council (“GMC”) in response. 

Factual Background

Mr Adil is a consultant colorectal surgeon. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, he posted multiple videos on social media in which he, amongst other things, made statements to the effect that:

1. COVID-19 did not exist;
2. the pandemic was a conspiracy brought about by the United Kingdom, Israel and America; 
3. the pandemic was a scam which was being manipulated for the benefit of Bill Gates and pharmaceutical companies;
4. Bill Gates infected the entire world with COVID-19 in order to sell vaccines; and 
5. COVID-19 vaccines would be given to everyone, by force if necessary, and could potentially contain microchips that affect the human body.

Weekly Round-Up: Worldwide Protests, Climate Litigation and Human Rights in the Premier League

3 April 2023 by Orry Moore

In the news

The Illegal Migration Bill has drawn a wide range of criticism this week, including from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Council of Europe and the Weiner Holocaust Library, after MPs rejected all proposed amendments during a five-hour debate last Monday. The UNHRC told the Joint Committee on Human Rights that the Bill risks causing a ‘domino effect’ on the international refugee system during a series of damning evidence hearings on Wednesday – the same day the Council of Europe’s group of experts on action against trafficking in human beings (Greta) expressed their concern that the Bill does not comply with the Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. The Weiner Holocaust Library, along with the Association of Jewish Refugees, have issued a joint statement condemning the Bill and the use of language by ministers, such as ‘invasion’, when referring to the arrival of small boats. More broadly, over 60 NGO’s, MPs and academics have now written to the PM urging him to withdraw the Bill, citing the various violations of international law, in the same week that Sunak defended the potential use of force against children to enforce detention and deportation.