The Times - UK (2021-11-25)

the times | Thursday November 25 2021 65

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In conversation

Anthony Speaight

QC on a lifetime

in law, pro bono

work and Brexit

thetimes.co.uk

Statistics are renowned for telling
whatever story the person promoting
them desires and the latest round of
criminal prosecutions figures was no
different. Last week the government
trumpeted that prosecutions of sex
offenders had leapt by a third during
the previous year, but acknowledged
that the total number of criminal cases
going to court fell.
Through whichever prism the statis-
tics are read, it is impossible to escape
one firm conclusion: broadly speaking,
delay continues to plague the system.
The figures from the Ministry of Justice
showed that there “were notable
increases” in prosecutions of sexual
offences and other violent crimes.
The statistics, which compared the
number of prosecutions over the past
three months with the same period last
year, showed a 32 per cent rise in the
number of sexual offences prosecuted
and a 24 per cent increase in the prose-
cution of cases of violence against
the person.
Prosecution of drug offences also
increased — by 37 per cent. But officials
conceded that the overall number of
prosecutions brought during the past
three months fell by 6 per cent com-
pared with the same period last year.
Nonetheless, Dominic Raab, the
justice secretary, described the rise in
prosecutions of sexual offences as
“encouraging”, which will have at least
buoyed Max Hill QC, the director of
public prosecutions and his senior
underlings at the Crown Prosecution
Service (CPS). The CPS has faced
mounting pressure from campaigners
and ministers to increase the number
of prosecutions in cases of sexual
assault and rape.
A year ago the number of rape prose-
cutions were shown to have dropped by

more than 30 per cent compared with

the previous 12 months, resulting in

what was at the time the lowest number

of convictions for at least five years. Hill

was lambasted for having overseen the

effective “decriminalisation of rape”.

Referring to the impact of the coro-

navirus pandemic on the justice system,

Raab said: “This is just the start of the

recovery in our criminal courts.” He

went on to point to the recent launch of

two “super courts” — in Manchester

and Loughborough — which are much

larger than standard court buildings

and are designed to hear more cases.

The government has also allocated

£477 million in the spending review to

the justice system.

However, experts warn that not all

the money was new funding and that

the rise in prosecutions of sexual offen-

ces was the result of the current figure

being compared with the situation

during lockdown last year.

They also argue that the ministry’s

figures only indicated how many prose-

cutions were started and that officials

did not record the number that had

been postponed or dropped because of

witnesses withdrawing. Sources at the

CPS also told The Times that the rise in

prosecutions for sexual offences was

“not as dramatic” as the figures suggest.

Rebecca Hitchen of the End Vio-

lence Against Women Coalition, a

campaign group, says that “it is to be

expected that we would see increased

prosecutions for sexual offences as jus-

tice systems recover from the impacts

of the pandemic”. However, she adds

that “while these increases in prosecu-

tions are welcome, they cannot be seen

as a success, given they fall well below

the level of prosecution we saw in 2016,

which the government and CPS have

set as targets for prosecuting sexual

offences. In this context, we see declin-

ing numbers across the board.

Tom Wainwright of Garden Court

Chambers successfully appealed

against the conviction of protester

Sebastian Roblyn, who climbed a tree

to prevent contractors from cutting it

down for the HS2 rail project. The

court ruled that as felling the tree

may have resulted in “wildlife

offences”, the contractors’ actions

could not be considered lawful.

What hurdles did you overcome in

this case? Triple-checking that what

appeared to be common sense

accorded with the law and that HS2

did not have carte blanche to commit

criminal offences, beyond those

authorised by the government.

What is the best decision you have

taken as a lawyer? Writing The

Protest Handbook, alongside my

magnificent colleagues. I’ve since

seen copies being carried on

demonstrations and on

the judge’s bench at the

Old Bailey.

Who do you most

admire in the law?

Three friends —

Jess Holmes, Vikki

Kerly and Di

Middleton QC —

strong, talented

barristers, each of

whom I learnt a great

deal from and miss greatly.

What is the best advice you have

received? That everything will not

fall apart if you take some time out.

One of many pieces of good advice

from my wife, Pippa.

What is the funniest thing

that has happened in

your job? Defining the

law on “man boobs”

in my first Court of

Appeal hearing was

definitely one of the

strangest. The

reference to

“breasts” in section

68(1)(a) of the Sexual

Offences Act 2003,

defining voyeurism, did

not include male breasts.

What are the best and worst parts

of being a lawyer? The best is when

you may have helped to make a

positive difference in someone’s life.

The worst: the toll the hours can take

on your wellbeing and family life.

What law would you enact? A

statute confirming that protests,

including direct action, are not

something outside the democratic

process but are a vital part of

functioning society. It would save me

having to argue the point quite often.

What is your favourite book, film,

pop song, cocktail? I found The

Transgender Issue by Shon Faye to be

inspirational. A rallying call for

solidarity, justice and reform that we

should not ignore.

Lawyer of the week Tom Wainwright

Linda Tsang

[email protected]

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Queen’s

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Alex Steuart

exclusive to members

Dignity after death NHS

trusts failed Fuller’s victims

Best interest It’s time to

reassess palliative care

Cop out Don’t believe the

eco-hype from carmakers

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Courts fail women ‘at every level’

Campaigners have criticised decreasing conviction rates for sexual offenders

“When compared to just five years

ago, what we actually see are decreases

in sentence lengths, in convictions and

in the number of offenders found guilty.

This is a stark reminder of the fact that

the system is broken at every level.”

The backlog of cases in the crown

courts still stands at more than 60,000,

about twice the level prior to the

pandemic. And though ministers have

committed to reducing the backlog

their ambitions are low. James Car-

tlidge, a justice minister, told MPs

earlier this month that the £477 million

chucked at the criminal justice system

in last month’s budget will only shave

about 7,000 from the backlog by 2025,

taking it to the level of earlier this year.

Jo Sidhu QC, the chairman of the

Criminal Bar Association, highlights

growing concerns over the backlog and

the falling number of criminal law

advocates after many left because of

a lack of work during the lockdowns.

“Given the chronic shortages of

criminal advocates right across our

jurisdiction,” Sidhu says, “the govern-

ment’s ambition of returning the

criminal justice system to full capacity

remains no more than a pipe dream.”

The association points to recent data

from the Ministry of Justice showing

that just because a prosecution begins

does not mean that it concludes.

Figures relating to cases of violence

against the person showed that in the

three months to last June 1,307 trials

concluded, but 1,479 were postponed.

Sidhu refers Raab to a recent annual

report from the Lord Burnett of Mal-

don, the lord chief justice, which said

“the courts are not a service like any

other. They do not exist simply to pro-

vide a service to those who use them.

They are one of the foundations of the

rule of law and one of the building

blocks on which civil society and eco-

nomic activity rests”.

Jonathan Ames

OUT OF COURT

The cases, the chatter, the chaos:

what’s really going on in the law

K-pop splits

council bash

Last weekend one stereotype —

that of the aloof barrister who is

unaware of popular culture — was

reinforced at the Bar Council’s

annual conference in London.

A panellist at a session on the

glories of “legal Twitter” warned

that the uninitiated could find

themselves subjected to “pile-ons”.

To test the point, a QC with

Twitter form told delegates to

open an anonymous account and

tweet “I hate #K-pop”. The novice

may soon be attacked by hundreds

of thousands fans with all the

vindictiveness for which keyboard

warriors are renowned. But the

reference clearly baffled one

delegate in later middle age who

belted out: “What is this K-pop?”

Cue giggling from all three of

the delegates under 40 — it was,

after all, the annual Bar and Young

Bar Conference — while the QC

panellist gave a brief explanation

of the Korean pop music craze.

MoJ on shaky ground

Just as autumn finally chills the

UK, Lord Wolfson QC, a justice

minister, has bagged a sun-and-

sand getaway with a group of

lawyers and legal profession

hangers-on. To be fair, the jaunt is

being styled as a Ministry of

Justice trade mission and officials

describe Wolfson’s 26 companions

as “a crack team of experts”. The

problem is that the destination is

Dubai, part of the federation that

forms the UAE, which is ruled by

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

al-Maktoum.

Last month a High Court judge

in London ruled that the sheikh

was implicated in hacking the

phone of the lawyer-peer Baroness

Shackleton of Belgravia and, last

year, a British judge said that he

was involved in the kidnapping of

two of his daughters.

Still, Wolfson et al, which

included Derek Sweeting QC, the

chairman of the Bar Council, and

Stephanie Boyce, the Law Society

president, were flying the flag at

a “legal services day” at the UK

pavilion in Dubai yesterday.

Another fine day at SRA

The hard nuts at the solicitors’

watchdog want to get a bigger

stick. The Solicitors Regulation

Authority (SRA) is consulting on

its plan to boost the maximum

fine it can levy from £2,000 to

£25,000. Officials say that this is

not evidence of pure sadism at the

authority and that there is a more

altruistic reason for the proposal.

Increasing the maximum fine,

the SRA says, will mean that

“a broader range of disciplinary

matters could be dealt with by the

SRA directly, without cases

needing to be referred to the

Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal”.

That in turn may mean that “cases

could be resolved quickly”.