Editor, Solicitors Journal

FREE SPEECH

3 Jan 2020News

The police's treatment of a former officer who posted allegedly transphobic tweets disproportionately interfered with his right of freedom of expression, the High Court held (Miller v Humberside Police [2020] EWHC 225). Following a complaint about his tweets, Humberside Police visited the officer at work and told him the tweets would be recorded as a non-crime hate incident. A document called a 'crime report print' was also created describing the officer as the 'suspect'. The court concluded that the police's actions led him reasonably to believe he was being warned not to exercise his right to freedom of expression about transgender issues on pain of potential criminal prosecution. It said strong justification is needed to justify a restriction on such speech. There was no such justification here. 14 February

Legal News desk contact: editorial@solicitorsjournal.com

Latest Articles

Generative AI in law: opportunity, risk and responsibility

AI promises efficiency in legal practice, but unchecked use risks errors, sanctions, and damage to public confidence

EU moves to reset medical devices regulation

The Commission proposes structural reforms to stabilise, simplify and future-proof the EU medical devices regulatory framework

Why UK paternity leave still fails families

The UK’s paternity leave framework lags Europe, undermining families, equality and long-term economic resilience

Agent signatures fail for trust declarations

Court of Appeal rules that declarations of trust over land must be personally signed to satisfy statutory formalities

The UK anti-corruption strategy: pillar one in focus

How the UK’s latest Anti-Corruption Strategy seeks to disrupt corrupt networks, incentivise whistleblowers, and strengthen enforcement

CD&R Galaxy UK Opco Limited fined £33,438

CD&R Galaxy UK Opco Limited has agreed to a financial penalty and investigation costs following regulatory breaches identified by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Using US discovery to support English litigation

How Section 1782 offers a powerful, underused route to obtain US-based evidence for foreign proceedings

FCA priorities and predictions for 2026

A forward-looking assessment of the FCA’s recent focus and what FS regulatory lawyers can expect in the year ahead

Why judge-only trials won’t fix court backlogs

Proposals to curb jury trials risk fairness, worsen delays, and ignore the real causes of Crown Court backlogs

Regulatory progress under Martyn’s Law

Ronnie Megaughin reflects on his experience as Interim Executive Director and shares the important developments made in the regulation of Martyn’s Law over the past six months

International taskforce unveils bribery indicators

The Serious Fraud Office and Five Eyes nations release guidance to identify foreign bribery indicators for businesses

Government appoints interim commissioners to EHRC

The Government has appointed Ali Harris and Professor Shazia Choudhry as interim commissioners at the EHRC while new commissioners are recruited

Joey Barton: where online speech becomes criminal

The sentencing clarifies how courts are drawing limits on free expression in the digital age

Impecuniosity, mitigation and credit hire on appeal

The High Court clarifies the limits of impecuniosity and appellate restraint in challenges to credit hire awards

Lawyer reflects on New York courts

A London lawyer shares insights from his visit to a busy New York City Criminal Court

SJ Interview: Joelle Grogan

Dr Joelle Grogan is a legal scholar specialising in the rule of law in times of crisis. She presents The Law Show on BBC Radio 4, and is Co-Academic Director of the Rule of Law Clinic at the CEU Democracy Institute (Budapest), and a Senior Research Fellow at the UCD Sutherland School of Law. Her work focuses on constitutional accountability, emergency powers, and legal misinformation. In this interview, she examines the pressures facing the rule of law in the UK, from executive power and court delays to media narratives, emergencies, and the impact of AI on legal practice.

Justice reform risks targeting the wrong fix

As 2026 approaches, ministers eye jury trials while ignoring deeper causes of England’s criminal justice crisis