Alexander Horne

Three incidents over the past fortnight have highlighted a disturbing trend in the UK: a tendency by some activists to downplay the violent and disruptive behaviour of certain pro-Palestinian groups. Two of these cases are linked to Palestine Action and its proscription. The first relates to the Irish author Sally Rooney and the decision (made jointly between the author and her publisher) to stop selling books in the United Kingdom after she promised to donate the proceeds to Palestine Action. This has been described in some quarters as a 'ban'. Yet the British government has no interest in outlawing her books; no one is precluding Rooney from supporting the Palestinian cause; and she could donate her royalties to any number of charities supporting Palestinians.

As Labour supporters gather in Liverpool this weekend, it will not escape delegates that we are, in all likelihood, at least halfway through the current Parliament. As such, it is a useful time to take stock and see what the party has achieved. Labour went into the 2024 general election promising a relatively modest set of constitutional fixes: Lords reform, a new Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) to prevent sleaze, a House of Commons Modernisation Committee, votes at 16, resetting relationships with the devolved institutions and strengthening rules relating to political donations. Many of these look on track for delivery, although sometimes in a rather low-fat form.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood published her Immigration and Asylum Bill yesterday, claiming that it would ‘save the asylum system for a generation’. At the heart of her approach was the idea that the government would ‘open new legal routes for genuine refugees’ while at the same time ‘closing loopholes that have too often been abused’. The 53-clause Bill runs to over 80 pages and would establish an independent immigration appeals authority. It would make changes to the way that the courts approach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, introduce a power to require payments from the recipients of asylum support and change rules relating to modern slavery.

The Labour MP Lauren Edwards has confirmed she will reintroduce the assisted dying Bill in the Commons as a Private Member’s Bill (PMB). As a supporter of assisted dying, you might expect that I would be entirely in favour of this initiative. In fact, I have a number of significant concerns. Edwards indicated that she will be introducing the same Bill (the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill) that had previously been introduced by her colleague Kim Leadbeater in the last parliamentary session. Leadbeater’s Bill would have allowed adults over the age of 18 who were expected to die within six months to be given help to end their own lives, subject to certain safeguards.

In a sensible but hard-hitting judgment this morning, the Court of Appeal upheld the ban on Palestine Action, overturning the decision of the High Court made in February this year that the proscription had been unlawful. The result of the decision is that over 700 cases which had been pending in the criminal courts may now proceed to trial. Many activists who were arrested at demonstrations in the last year may also now face court. In giving judgment, the Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr, sitting with four other senior judges, pulled no punches. She made clear that Palestine Action was a group which the Home Secretary had reasonably concluded was concerned in terrorism: it was not a civil disobedience protest group comparable to the suffragettes.

Kemi Badenoch is expected to reveal the Conservative party’s new approach to equality law in a speech today. Most prominent will be an announcement that the Conservatives will scrap the public sector equality duty (PSED). This is designed to ensure that when making decisions, public bodies consider the need to eliminate discrimination; advance equality of opportunity; and ‘foster good relations’ between people who have protected characteristics and people who do not. Critics have argued that the PSED has promoted divisive agendas. Badenoch is expected to say that it has ‘become a minefield that exposes almost every significant public decision to legal challenge’.

Against the backdrop of the current leadership chaos engulfing Labour, in Wednesday's King’s Speech the government announced new legislation that would ‘increase confidence in the security of the immigration and asylum systems’. A briefing document published shortly afterwards put some flesh on the bones, revealing that a package of contentious measures first floated by the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, in November last year would be taken forward in a Bill. No. 10 has described the proposals as the 'most significant' on asylum 'in a generation’. They include plans to ‘introduce a new asylum model based on contribution, integration and respect for UK laws’.

Next week, the Court of Appeal will hear Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s appeal against a High Court decision that the proscription of Palestine Action last summer was unlawful. The case will be hugely consequential. Earlier this month, more than 500 people were arrested at a Palestine Action demonstration. In total, more than 2,700 people have been arrested for expressing support for the group since they were banned in July last year by Mahmood's predecessor Yvette Cooper. Prosecutions against these individuals were put on hold following the High Court's judgment in February. I have previously argued that the High Court’s decision was both unfortunate and unwise.

There was considerable pressure on Sir Keir Starmer this morning to indicate what action might be taken against his former US ambassador, Lord Mandelson. In addition to his ill-advised friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, Mandelson has been accused of leaking confidential government information to the convicted paedophile. Despite his previous, improbable, resurrections it is impossible to imagine the Prince of Darkness bouncing back from this disgrace The matter has been referred to the Metropolitan Police, and it has been alleged that it could potentially mean Mandelson being prosecuted for misconduct in public office, a criminal offence which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Court of Appeal has delivered a judgment on the so-called 'Gaza family' claim, which sparked such outrage at Prime Minister's Questions back in February. The row related to a decision of the Upper Tribunal to allow a Palestinian family from Gaza, who had a relative living in the UK, to enter the country. The family had initially applied under the Ukraine Family Visa Scheme and also relied on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to a family life). Their claim was initially refused, but they were allowed to stay, on appeal, after the Upper Tribunal determined that they had demonstrated 'a very strong claim indeed' and that there were 'compelling or exceptional circumstances' to justify the appeal being allowed.

The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is set to announce a series of new measures in the Commons today to combat illegal migration. The new laws are said to be based on measures introduced in Denmark which have significantly reduced the number of asylum seekers arriving there. In 2014, 14,792 asylum seekers went to Denmark; in 2024 the figure was 2,333. The Danish laws have been described as some of the toughest in Europe, but still it remains a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Mahmood’s proposals include new rules under which people granted asylum in the UK would have to wait 20 years to settle permanently (rather than the current five).

Today is the 75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights. In spite of its longevity, the Convention faces a number of challenges, and this is perhaps not the happiest of birthdays. In the UK the Convention faces a significant challenge. For the first time, both the Conservatives and Reform will enter the next general election pledging to withdraw from it The development of the ECHR was, in part, a response to the aftermath of the second world war and the serious violations of human rights which occurred during the conflict. Much is made by its supporters of the fact that British lawyers, such as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe (a Nuremberg prosecutor), were heavily involved in drafting it. It is frequently described as ‘Churchill’s legacy.

One of Kemi Badenoch’s biggest announcements ahead of Conservative party conference was her pledge to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). On Sunday, she said that exiting the ECHR would be a manifesto commitment at the next general election. On the same day, a legal opinion by the shadow attorney general, Lord Wolfson KC, was circulated by the Conservatives. Lord Wolfson’s advice runs to 185 pages, and he acknowledges the support of a team of barristers, solicitors and academics (I declare an interest here, having contributed part of a section on the mechanics of leaving).

Yesterday, the High Court allowed Palestine Action to challenge the Home Secretary’s decision to ban it. Since its proscription, under terrorism legislation, it has been an offence to be a member of the group, or to invite support for it. There is absolutely no need for peaceful protestors to associate themselves with a group concerned in unlawful acts While it was not a final determination, the High Court hearing was revealing.

Barely a week passes without headlines about the UK’s ongoing issues deporting foreign national offenders (FNOs). Foreign offenders are estimated to make up around 12 per cent of the UK prison population and many are not deported upon release. While some stories may be exaggerated or misrepresented – such as the well-known case of an Albanian offender who initially avoided deportation due to his son’s aversion to foreign chicken nuggets (a decision later overturned on appeal) – there’s little doubt that the current system is both inefficient and somewhat unpredictable.