North Sea Oil Licenses, Torture in Ukraine, and Abortion Rights in the Court of Appeal

3 August 2023 by Orry Moore

In the news

Two thinktanks – Civil Exchange and the Sheila McKechnie Foundation – have issued a damning report on the state of freedom of expression and democratic discourse in the UK, condemning the “political attack” on democratic spaces by government ministers. The report, titled “Defending our Democratic Spaces”, laments the attempts by Conservative ministers to portray judges, lawyers, charities, campaigners and parts of the media as a “block to democracy rather than key components of it”. Other key issues highlighted in the report include the increasingly authoritarian anti-protest laws being passed, new ID restrictions on the right to vote, reduced access to judicial review, and the creation by ministers of an “intemperate environment” as part of ongoing culture wars. The result, it is feared, is a “chilling effect” on public campaigning and further polarisation of UK politics. The political attacks on freedom are not just affecting those on the left – we also recently saw the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account with Coutts on the basis of his political beliefs and the subsequent resignation of Natwest’s CEO.

Greenpeace activists have scaled Rishi Sunak’s North Yorkshire home in protest at his decision to issue 100 new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea. The protestors have unfurled a giant “oil-black fabric” on one side of the house, in an attempt to “bring home to the prime minister the really serious consequences of a new drilling frenzy in the North Sea.” The controversial move to grant the new licenses has caused outrage among environmental groups and MPs of all colours, including Chris Skidmore, the Tory MP who led a review into net zero. Oxfam has described the move as sending “a wrecking ball through the UK’s climate commitments”, but the government maintains that it is right to use domestic resources for energy security reasons and that the new licenses are compatible with net zero. Additionally, the government claims that domestic oil has one quarter of the carbon footprint of imported LNG and cites the potential 50,000 jobs that the licenses could create. However, Friends of the Earth has claimed that it will “[do] nothing for energy security as these fossil fuels will be sold on international markets and not reserved for UK use.”

The firefighters’ union has called for an urgent meeting with the Home Secretary over safety concerns raised about a giant barge due to house migrants, citing fears of overcrowding and a lack of access to fire exits on the Bibby Stockholm, with the union’s assistant general secretary describing the vessel as a “potential deathtrap”. The concerns stem from the plan to exempt the vessel, which is due to hold up to 500 asylum seekers, from the requirement of a HMO license and the subsequent lack of adequate risk assessment that this could entail. The government maintains that the vessel is completely safe, citing its previous use for this purpose by Germany, but admits that there have been delays in putting the plan into action. Critics, such as the Mayor of Portland, where such vessels are planned to be moored, have described the plans as “cruel”.

In other news

Nearly half of Ukrainians held in Russian detention centres in Kherson were subjected to widespread torture, according to a report. The report reveals analysis of an initial pool of 320 cases of detention in Kherson, across more than 35 identified detention centres. It was compiled by a Mobile Justice Team, part of the UK, EU and US-sponsored Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) and set up by international human rights law firm and foundation, Global Rights Compliance, to support Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG). The crimes detailed by the report include genital electrocution, rape, suffocation, waterboarding, and severe beatings. Anna Mykytenko of Global Rights Compliance says the patterns of rape and torture point towards a Russian intent to eradicate Ukrainian identity, but that further evidence is needed to prove genocide beyond a reasonable doubt.

Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that bans people from officially or medically changing their gender in Russia. The act, passed unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person”, as well as banning changing a person’s gender in official documents or public records. The only exception will be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies. This adds to the long list of anti-LGBT measures passed by the Kremlin, such as the outlawing of promoting “nontraditional sexual relations” and the prohibition on same-sex marriage.

The UK intelligence agencies are lobbying the government to weaken surveillance laws they argue place a “burdensome” limit on their ability to train artificial intelligence models with large amounts of personal data. The proposals would make it easier for GCHQ, MI6 and MI5 to use certain types of data, by relaxing safeguards designed to protect people’s privacy and prevent the misuse of sensitive information. Some privacy experts and groups have expressed concern at the proposals but Lord Anderson, a senior barrister previously commissioned by the Home Office to conduct a review into this deregulation, concluded that the law should be amended to create “a less onerous set of safeguards” and said the “deregulatory effect of the proposed changes is relatively minor”, while maintaining that there should remain some ministerial and judicial oversight.

In the courts

The two Just Stop Oil activists who scaled the Dartford Crossing bridge have lost their Court of Appeal bid for reduced sentences. Lawyers for the protestors argued that the length of the sentences – three years and two years and seven months, respectively – were extraordinarily long. However, Lady Justice Sue Carr, sitting with Mrs Justice Johanna Cutts and Mrs Justice Justine Thornton, said: “This was very serious offending by repeat protest offenders who were trespassers and on bail at the time … Whilst the protest was non-violent as such, it had extreme consequences for many, many members of the public.”.

ClientEarth has been refused permission to bring a case against Shell in the High Court. The charity, which holds 27 shares in Shell, argued that the company cannot achieve its aim of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 with its current climate transition strategy, and its directors are therefore breaching their duties to shareholders. Trower J refused permission because ClientEarth’s argument “ignores the fact that the management of a business of the size and complexity of that of Shell will require the directors to take into account a range of competing considerations”, in which the courts should not interfere. The charity intends to appeal.

A mother who was jailed for illegally taking abortion tablets to end her pregnancy during lockdown will be released from prison after the Court of Appeal reduced her sentence. Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Lord Justice Holroyde and Mrs Justice Lambert at the London court on Tuesday, called it “a very sad case … It is a case that calls for compassion, not punishment”. Dame Victoria told the court there was “no useful purpose” served by detaining Foster in custody, and added her case had “exceptionally strong mitigation”. The appeal judgment can be found here.