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Every episode
The Law Show
30 episodes
What are Blitz courts?
Jun 17, 2026 · 28 min
So-called blitz courts are being expanded across England and Wales. A number of courts across the two countries have been holding regular blitz hearings since April. Multiple cases are heard every day instead of just one, and are grouped by type. A set of plea hearings might be scheduled together in one blitz court, and sentencing hearings at another. Blitz courts increase efficiency by making sure that all the parties concerned are ready and prepared for their day in court. They are not a new i…
Political donations and the law
Jun 10, 2026 · 28 min
The Representation of the People Bill 2026 is in the King’s Speech which means it’s on the Government’s legislative agenda and is going through Parliament. The Bill covers parliamentary ballots cross the UK, and contains sweeping changes, including giving 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote in a general election and referendums. The Bill also aims to strengthen the rules around political donations. Giving money to a political party is completely legal, if you are on the UK electoral register,…
Why were three teen rapists not given custodial sentences?
Jun 3, 2026 · 28 min
Note: this episode contains frequent references to rape, sexual assault and physical assault. There's been public confusion and outrage over the sentences given to three teenage boys, who were convicted of rape. In November 2024 and January 2025, two girls, then aged 15 and 14, were attacked in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, by two 14-year-olds. Another boy, then 13, was also convicted for his involvement in the second rape. The teenage boys were given youth rehabilitation order…
The Renters Rights Act - In Detail
May 27, 2026 · 28 min
The Renter’s Rights Act came into force at the start of May, and it marked the biggest change to how private rentals work in England in a generation. There are a host of new protections and legal entitlements for renters, and many potential pitfalls for landlords to consider. Assured shorthold tenancies have been abolished, and have automatically been converted into rolling tenancies - sometimes known as ‘assured periodic tenancies’. It means that the tenancy has no automatic end date. Section 2…
How tough are the UK's asylum laws?
Mar 25, 2026 · 28 min
The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s Restoring Order and Control policy is underway. It's based - in part - on measures carried out in Denmark which cut asylum claims there to a 40 year low. From now on in the UK, people granted asylum - refugees - will face a review every two and a half years. If their country of origin is regarded as safe, they may be encouraged, or even forced, to go back. There are lots of other changes. If someone is refused asylum, they’ll only be allowed a single appeal.…
When is it legal to go to war?
Mar 18, 2026 · 28 min
Under international law, when can a country declare war on another? Was it legal for Israel and the United States to have carried out "pre-emptive" airstrikes across most of Iran’s provinces, which started the war? The USA says the attacks were justfied, because of an imminent threat from Iran's nuclear programme, and Israel claims it acted in self-defence. The Israeli President went further - telling the BBC that focusing on the legality of the war instead of regional security is "mind-boggling…
Is it legal for police to use live facial recognition technology?
Mar 11, 2026 · 28 min
The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says she makes “no apology” for announcing the roll-out of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) to all the police services in England and Wales. Under a government white paper on policing, the number of Live Facial Recognition vans will increase from 10 to 50. Police say it’s groundbreaking technology in the fight against crime, but civil liberties groups say it’s authoritarian and a step towards a "surveillance state". Facial recognition cameras are already used in s…
The plans to limit jury trials in England and Wales
Mar 4, 2026 · 28 min
The courts system in England and Wales is in an unprecedented crisis. The backlog has reached 80,000 cases, and some defendants are being told they won't be able to have a criminal trial until 2030. The government has introduced the Courts and Tribunals Bill, which contains a raft of measures to tackle delays and bring down the backlog; but the Justice Secretary David Lammy has admitted that things are going to get even worse before they get better. The most controversial change is a plan to res…
What is Misconduct in Public Office?
Feb 25, 2026 · 27 min
The former US ambassador Peter Mandelson is on bail after being arrested on suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office. Police have been investigating claims that when he was Business secretary, he shared market-sensitive government information with the financier Jeffrey Epstein. His arrest comes a few days after police arrested Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, also on suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office, when he was a trade envoy. He is suspected of sharing confidential government documents with…
The law under fire
Nov 19, 2025 · 28 min
Politically motivated attacks on the legal profession in the UK have led to barristers, solicitors, advocates and judges being subjected to violence, death threats and rape threats. Some have faced threats to their family members. This is according to the The Bar Council of England and Wales, the Law Society of England and Wales, the Law Society of Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates, the Bar of Northern Ireland and the Law Society of Northern Ireland. These organisations represent a quarter of a…
The court delays crisis
Nov 12, 2025 · 28 min
When the Labour government came to power in 2024, it faced a crisis in the criminal courts, with ever-longer delays and a growing backlog of cases. The Ministry of Justice's budget is now one third higher in real terms than in 2019, but according to the latest figures, crown court cases that are yet to be heard reached a record high of 78,329. In October, the Justice Secretary David Lammy promised extra funding to increase the number of days that English and Welsh courts will sit next year. But…
Immigration and the law - who stays? Who goes?
Nov 5, 2025 · 28 min
Immigration has dominated headlines for months, but what UK laws cover this most emotive of issues? When someone arrives here, what are the legal routes they have to take if they want to stay in the UK? What's the legal difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee? What does "indefinite leave to remain" mean? And what's the difference between being deported, being removed and being extradited? How do immigration hearings work? Are our immigration laws fit for purpose, and do they enable us…
How can avoidable deaths be prevented?
Jun 11, 2025 · 28 min
The phrase “State related deaths” might mean little to the average person, but it's an umbrella term referring to a death in custody or a mental health setting. It also applies to situations when people have taken their own lives while in the armed forces or even to disasters like Grenfell or Hillsborough. What all these have in common is that they are followed by inquests or public inquiries, where investigators or coroners try to work out what caused the deaths. Public inquiries are set up to…
Should killers be forced to attend sentencing hearings?
Jun 4, 2025 · 28 min
The Victims and Courts Bill is progressing through Parliament, and will force convicted criminals to attend their sentencing hearings. If criminals convicted of the most serious offences in England or Wales refuse to attend, or are disruptive in court, they will face an extra two years in prison. There are other sanctions too, including missing out on family visits. ‘Reasonable force’ can also be used to get criminals to attend. The families of three women killed in London - Sabina Nessa, Jan Mu…
Wrongful convictions: why private prosecutions face reform
May 28, 2025 · 28 min
Wrongful convictions in the Post Office scandal and for train fare evasion have been described by the Government as ‘catastrophic failures’, and it's held a consultation in England and Wales to reform private prosecutions. It covers private prosecutions brought by organisations, and also, the SJP - the single justice procedure - where a minor criminal offence is decided by a magistrate behind closed doors. Tens of thousands of rail fines have been quashed, after train companies were found to hav…
My data's been stolen in a cyberattack - can I sue?
May 21, 2025 · 28 min
What legal responsibilities does a company have to keep your data secure? M&S, and the Co-op are picking up the pieces after their systems were hacked. The cyber criminals claim to have the private information of 20 million people who signed up to Co-op's membership scheme, but the firm have not confirmed that number. The Co-op says the breach did not include members’ passwords, bank or credit card details. However, experts say seemingly innocent information can be used to commit fraud or identi…
Death and the Law in England and Wales
Apr 2, 2025 · 28 min
When someone passes away - legally, what do you have to do? In this episode, Dr Joelle Grogan and guests look at the host of legal obligations that have to be considered in England and Wales from declaring a death, to the circumstances in which a coroner becomes involved, dealing with a dead person’s estate and the grant of probate. Note that in Scotland, different laws and rules apply. The Procurator Fiscal investigates all sudden, suspicious, accidental, unexpected and unexplained deaths and a…
The human cost of court delays
Mar 19, 2025 · 28 min
Justice delayed is justice denied - the court backlog in England and Wales has reached a record high and suspects being charged with new offences are regularly told they may not get a trial until 2027. Some courts are already booking court dates for 2028. The government has commissioned an independent review of criminal courts to work out how to cut waiting times. A victim of crime and a criminal defence solicitor tell Dr Joelle Grogan about the human cost of court delays. Also on the programme,…
Genocide, war crimes and justice
Mar 12, 2025 · 28 min
Since the October 7th attacks by Hamas on Israel, and the IDF military invasion of the Gaza strip, terms like 'war crimes', 'crimes against humanity' and 'genocide' have been used when discussing the conflict. Warrants have been issued by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas commander Mohammed Deif - who has since died in an air strike - citing allegations of war crimes and crimes agains…
Expert witnesses in criminal trials
Mar 5, 2025 · 27 min
Lucy Letby is serving 15 whole-life sentences after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester hospital - with two attempts on one of her victims - between June 2015 and June 2016. But a campaign to clear her is being led by 14 medical experts who say there is no medical evidence for murders or attacks on those babies in her ward at the hospital. The expert witness at her trial, Dr Dewi Evans, has consistently defended the evidence…
Joint enterprise - what is it and why is it controversial?
Nov 27, 2024 · 29 min
A parliamentary inquiry has just started work into the law around Joint enterprise. Joint enterprise is contentious because if a person is seen to be involved in a crime, from knowing about it, to egging someone on, being present, or even being able to predict that someone is likely to use a weapon like a gun - then they could be considered as guilty as the person who pulled the trigger. It has a long history, but in recent times, it has been used as a way of prosecuting murder, especially in ca…
Miscarriages of justice and the CCRC
Nov 20, 2024 · 29 min
The job of the Criminal Cases Review Commission - or CCRC - is to investigate cases where people may have been wrongfully convicted of a crime in the criminal courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The CCRC has faced criticism over it's actions - or lack of action - in a high-profile miscarriage of justice. In April this year, the CCRC offered an unreserved apology to Andrew Malkinson. He spent 17 years in prison following conviction for a rape in Salford that he didn’t commit. DNA test…
Inside the Family Courts
Nov 13, 2024 · 32 min
Last year, more than a quarter of a million cases started in Family Court in England and Wales. Yet, to most people, the way they work is a mystery. Traditionally, they were always held in private, because they discuss sensitive information about peoples' personal lives, and to protect children from harm. Since 2009 reporters have been allowed to attend hearings. But they weren't allowed to tell anyone what was said without the permission of the court, and judges could exclude them. Now, a pilot…
The Renters' Rights Bill
Nov 6, 2024 · 29 min
In this new series of the Law Show, Dr Joelle Grogan and guests look at the legislation that affects your life. One of the flagship pieces of legislation for the Labour Government is the Renters' Rights Bill - scrapping no-fault evictions, and imposing new obligations and penalties on rogue landlords. How will it benefit tenants and affect landlords? Also on the programme: a raft of new laws are coming into effect this autumn, but who decides when a law becomes active or is enforceable? And fami…
Traumatised jurors, prenups and Japanese knotweed
Jun 14, 2024 · 28 min
Weekly conversation led by Dr Joelle Grogan to give you an in-depth understanding of the law stories making news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. This week: Traumatised jurors: new research has found that as much as half of people who serve on the juries of gruesome criminal trials, such as child murders or rape, can suffer symptoms of vicarious psychological trauma as a result. A pilot scheme to offer free counselling to affected jurors has now been shelv…
Sewage-polluted waters, Divorce and financial orders, Leasehold reform
Jun 5, 2024 · 29 min
Weekly conversation led by Dr Joelle Grogan about the law stories making the news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. Whether it’s explaining a new law or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide. This week: Water: from the cryptosporidium outbreak in tap water in Devon, to E. coli bacteria in the Thames, and sewage in rivers, lakes and seas across the country - what does the law say about clean water? What obligations do wate…
Assisted dying, County court judgments, Drill music and ... nakedness
May 29, 2024 · 28 min
Weekly conversation led by Dr Joelle Grogan about the law stories making the news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. Whether it’s unpicking a landmark legal ruling, explaining how laws are made or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide. This week: Assisted dying. Jersey, the Isle of Man, and Scotland are all taking steps towards making it legal to help someone die, in very specific and limited circumstances. It's currently…
Protest, Lasting power of attorney and the Green belt
May 22, 2024 · 28 min
Weekly conversation led by Dr Joelle Grogan that gives you an in-depth understanding of the law stories making the news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. Whether it’s unpicking a landmark legal ruling, explaining how laws are made or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide. This week: Protest law has been tightened up a lot in the last year, giving the police more leeway to stop disruption. But parts of the new powers have…
Introducing The Law Show
May 21, 2024 · 1 min
It’s a practical guide to navigating the law. Each week Joelle will be joined by a family of experts to offer in-depth understanding of the legal issues making the headlines, and explain how they affect us. Whether it’s unpicking a landmark legal ruling, explaining how laws are made or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide.
The Lady Chief Justice
Mar 26, 2024 · 29 min
Dame Sue Carr, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, is the first Lady Chief Justice, the first woman to hold the role. She gives her first broadcast interview as head of the judiciary of England and Wales to Law in Action, for its farewell edition. She speaks about her priorities, hopes, and concerns, and marks the end of Law in Action by looking back at 40 years in the law. She also picks her favourite editions of the programme, and closes with a tribute to presenter Joshua Rozenberg. Lord Davi…
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