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In the News

  • The Student Newspaper: Civil partnership controversy: is the law discriminatory?
    March 21st, 2017

    A heterosexual couple's recent struggle to secure a civil partnership has forced the judiciary to reassess the appropriateness of marriage as a form of legal union in the 21st century.
    On Tuesday, 21 February, the court of appeal ruled against Rebecca Steinfeld (35) and Charles Keidan (40), who launched the case in 2014. However, although the couple has lost the case, the judges' unanimous agreement that such discrimination against heterosexual couples must change has left them with hope.

    As the couple's inability to obtain a civil partnership impacts their family life, the judges agreed that the ban constitutes a potential violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. They also considered the ban to be a violation of Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) as partnerships are available to same-sex couples but not heterosexual couples.

    Read more.

  • Telegraph: Courts could challenge Parliament's decision not to legalise assisted dying
    March 21st, 2017

    The courts could overrule a Parliamentary decision not to legalise assisted dying after a terminally ill man mounted a new bid to change the law.

    Noel Conway, 67, from Shrewsbury, who has motor neurone disease, has applied for permission to mount a judicial review.

    The basis of the case is that the Suicide Act 1961 interferes with Mr Conway's human right to private life, including the right to decide the manner of his death.

    Read more.

  • Telegraph: Restoration of Jesus's tomb completed in time for Easter
    March 21st, 2017

    The tomb of Jesus has been resurrected to its former glory.

    Just in time for Easter, a Greek restoration team has completed a historic renovation of the Edicule, the shrine that tradition says houses the cave where Jesus was buried and rose to heaven.

    Gone is the unsightly iron cage built around the shrine by British authorities in 1947 to shore up the walls. Gone is the black soot on the shrine's stone facade from decades of pilgrims lighting candles. And gone are fears about the stability of the old shrine, which hadn't been restored in more than 200 years.

    Read more.

  • Guardian: YouTube changes restrictions on gay-themed content following outcry
    March 21st, 2017

    YouTube has altered its classifications of some LGBTQ-themed videos, following protests from users, including the musicians Tegan and Sara. The site had been criticised for having non-explicit videos featuring LGBTQ themes classed as restricted, which filters out "potentially inappropriate" content.

    Tegan and Sara, who are both openly gay, were among those who complained about the policy, pointing out its absurdities in a series of tweets: "If you put @YouTube on restricted mode a bunch of our music videos disappear. … LGBTQ people shouldn’t be restricted. SAD!" Several of the Canadian sisters' videos had been classed as restricted, despite the content being non-sexual, whereas others that were sexual but LGBTQ-themed were still available.

    Read more.

  • BBC: Funds crisis pushes more children into care - report
    March 21st, 2017

    More children are being taken into care, some unnecessarily, because councils in England cannot afford to intervene earlier, a report suggests.

    Late interventions often meant problems had escalated before support could be put in place, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children heard.

    Its report into children's social care found 90% of councils were struggling to fulfil legal duties to children.

    The government said offering early help was the best way to keep children safe.

    Read more. 

  • BBC: Down's syndrome mum: 'Don't feel sorry for us'
    March 21st, 2017

    A mother of two children who have Down's syndrome says she wants the world to know she's proud of them.

    Maria Belton from Bromborough has posted photographs and videos of her experiences of Down's syndrome on social media to raise awareness.

    Watch here.

  • Telegraph: We need to talk about abortion more, not remove it from the public conscience
    March 21st, 2017

    Can we talk about abortion? Not ban it, not even necessarily limit it; just talk about it? The public doesn't want to, because it’s a "private matter". Politicians won't raise it for fear of being called anti-women. The people driving such debate as we have about abortion are those who want to make it as easy to obtain as possible.

    Last week the Commons debated a Ten Minute Rule Bill, submitted by Labour MP Diana Johnson, that would decriminalise abortion up to 24 weeks. At present, abortion is technically illegal without the permission of two doctors – an arrangement that Ms Johnson calls "harsh" and "obsolete". She says she doesn't want to deregulate abortion, just remove any threat of prosecution – allowing professional medical bodies to oversee the practice, rather than the criminal authorities. The Bill passed 172-142, because many complacent opponents didn't show up to vote.

    Read more.

  • BBC: Pupils need internet lessons to thrive online, say Lords
    March 21st, 2017

    Learning to survive in a world dominated by the internet should be as important for children as reading and writing, says a House of Lords report.

    Lessons about online responsibilities, risks and acceptable behaviour should be mandatory in all UK schools, the Lords Communications Committee argues.

    The internet is "hugely beneficial" but children need awareness of its hazards, said committee chairman Lord Best.

    Industry leaders said education was key to keeping children safe online.

    Read more.

  • Telegraph: Transgender rapist moved to female prison 'after NHS sex change'
    March 21st, 2017

    A transgender convicted rapist has been moved to a female prison after having sex change on the NHS, it has been reported.

    Jessica Winfield, 50, who was known as Martin Ponting when she was jailed for life 12 years ago, has been relocated from maximum security HMP Whitemoor, Cambridgeshire, to HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey, according to the Sun.

    The move is said to have caused disquiet at the women's jail, with one inmate threatening to self-harm to stay away from Winfield.

    Read more. 

  • Times (£): Universities told they must protect freedom of speech
    March 21st, 2017

    Universities will be required to protect free speech across their campuses including inside the student union under plans being drawn up by the government.

    Jo Johnson, minister for higher education, has written to universities saying that they will be compelled to include a clear commitment to freedom of speech in their governance documents to counter the culture of censorship and so-called safe spaces.

    The letter, seen by The Times, said that it was the "legal duty" of universities to ensure as far as practicable that freedom of speech is secured for "members, students, employees and visiting speakers". This meant that all university premises should not be "denied to any individual or body on any grounds connected with their beliefs or views, policy or objective".

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