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Reply | Have human rights for murderers gone too far?
at 00:19 4 Jan 2026
Matrix Chambers and Birnberg Pierce aren’t rivals, the former are barristers and the latter are solicitors. In this particular case, Birnberg Pierce who were representing Awale instructed Matrix Chambers to act for them /Awale.
Sackman’s husband Dan Squires who represented Awale is a highly regarded band 1 barrister and a KC, he’s also a Deputy High Court Judge. Matrix Chambers are 1 of the 3 very highly regarded HR public law Chambers in London, so if you’re looking to take a case like this to Court and want to win Matrix and Squires are the types you’d be looking for in your corner.
Fees vary, but a top Kings Council Barrister will typically earn between £500 and £1500 + VAT per hour and the real top end will earn more again for private work. Awale is unlikely to have been able to pay for this himself unless he’s being bankrolled by a third party or “do gooders.” Assuming that’s not the case and that this case is funded by Legal Aid, then the fees for Legal Aid work are pre set by the government and are substantially lower than private rates. To get a KC te act on your behalf in legal aid cases, the KC must have special permission from the Legal Aid Agency to be instructed in a legally aided case. This is usually only granted in cases of exceptional complexity or public importance, in criminal law cases (which are no longer that well paid in comparison to other types of work) KC’s are usually used in your murder and other very serious cases. Legal Aid rates are capped and much lower coming in between £225 and £275 an hour. (Plus the obligatory VAT)
Given that this case had been heard in the High Court a year before Labour came to power, it stands to reason that the approval would have been given for Squires to act in this case would be nothing to do with Sackman, she wasn’t even an MP when her husband took this case on. What is of real concern is the size of the settlement, we’ve no idea on how that brakes down in terms of solicitors, barristers, fees, case workers etc but it’s a huge sum.
It’s worth pointing out that Sackman is also a qualified barrister and that she has practiced out of Matrix Chambers. There’s no evidence or information to suggest Sarah Sackman has acted in appropriately.
For many years, Westminster has been totally over represented by members of the legal profession. In 2019 over 30% of the MP’s came from a legal background, but they only make up 0.37% of society ! We need to pull that back and make it a much smaller proportion, we need to have more candidates drawn from different walks of life. |
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Reply | Crass Stupidity - A Case Study
at 11:36 3 Jan 2026
Business rates need to be slashed to encourage enterprise.
Drop the rates for occupied premises, introduce punitive charges for empty properties as it may encourage landlords to set more sensible rents for commercial properties, get energy prices down and let’s see where we go from there. |
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Reply | More Miliband madness?
at 07:26 3 Jan 2026
I just can’t understand how some of these names come up.
Rayner may be popular with party members, but to a lot of the general public she will simply be unelectable - she’s had 2 “run ins” over her taxes and the public wont buy it. Miliband, been there and I can’t see us going back. I’d prefer Starmer to Miliband tbh. Not sure about Streeting.
Cupboard is pretty bare in the all the parties. |
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Reply | Have human rights for murderers gone too far?
at 19:26 2 Jan 2026
That depends on what you mean by it’s down to Lammy.
Lammy signed the cheque but I suspect that’s because he’s picked up a “hospital pass”and has had no choice other than to pay up. There’s a lot more to this story than what’s been said in the newspaper articles.
The act subject to the Court hearing took place between 13.4.22 and the date the case was heard in the High Court which was on the 12th and 13th of July 2023, however some of the evidence and testimony goes back as far as 2020. The judgement from the High Court Judge was issued in September 2024, some 14 months after the case was heard and it was reported on at the time. Lammy was only appointed to his current role as Secretary of State for Justice in September 2025 some 12 months after the judgement was issued, so what has happened in that time? I suspect Lammy has found himself in the unenviable position of having to deal with someone else’s mess. Some of the politicians who were in power when all this was happening back in 2023 are now pointing the finger, when in fact it happened on their watch.
Looking at things in a chronological order, the acts took place under the previous government. The litigation also took place under the previous government, however the verdict was delivered under the current government and Lammy who is know representing the current government has settled the case.
What could Lammy have done differently other than settle the case? Could he have appealed, possibly but I’d have thought that had been looked at and a decision was made to pay up based on the chance (or lack of ) of winning a possible appeal. The honest answer is I’m not sure he had any choice other than to settle as failure to have resolved the case could either have seen a further judgement against the government, bigger fines, more costs etc and even Contempt of Court proceedings which ultimately could lead to imprisonment. It would appear the payout is inline with previous policies and precedents.
What about the previous government’s role in all this? I don’t blame the last government for fighting this in Court (and thereby incurring huge expenditure) because this guy Awale is a piece of scum and must be detained in a manner which keeps the public and prison staff safe - if that means being confined to his cell so be it. The case had to be contested, but at what point do you draw the line if you’ve got no chance of winning? Some Human Rights should be not negotiable, but others should be proportionate and be dependent on one’s behaviour. If you can’t behave then you don’t have a Right to a Private Life it’s as simple as that.
Robert Jenrick has been quite vocal on this and about the EHCR in general and some of the points he makes are valid, but why didn’t he and his party take steps to change the laws to stop this happening when this case was kicking off in 2022 and 2023? By then they’d been power 12 years and this wasn’t the first time we’d had issues with the ECHR. It’s easy to throw mud now, but he and his party had plenty of time to make changes and they didn’t. Enough said.
It galls me that we’ve paid out £7.5k to this monster and £240k to his barristers and solicitors, it’s obscene. Awale used Birnberg Pierce a company of highly reputable solicitors, it’s alumni includes non other than Gareth Pierce who was one of the most highly regarded solicitors and of her generation. Legal aid needs looking at too.
In answer to the original question posed by AJ, I think the answer is yes. It goes without saying changes need to be made to the ECHR and hopefully those changes will start to happen and soon.
I’m no fan of Lammy and I’d rather see him moved on from government, but I don’t think the blame for this can be laid fairly and squarely on his shoulders, there are others who should also be held to account.
[Post edited 2 Jan 23:22]
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Reply | How many like this are already here?
at 20:23 25 Dec 2025
And then we have this!
An innocent law abiding citizen from a minority group murdered by 2 scumbags in a racist hate crime down in the Vale Of Glamorgan. There’s two should never see the light of day again.
There’s good and bad in all walks of life, hope the judge bangs them up for a long long time.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/ [Post edited 25 Dec 2025 20:24]
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Reply | Labour imploding
at 22:56 24 Dec 2025
Tosh.
May left after her 3rd attempt to push through her Brexit plan crashed and burned and her party bombed in the May 19 elections, the knives were being sharpened and she jumped before she was pushed because the writing was on the wall.
Boris only left when his ministers started bailing out on him after he’d been shown / caught out having told pork pies about one of the whips.
Starmer may be very unpopular, but he hasn’t has yet had a massive annihilation at the polls (that may come next May) nor has he found himself in a Boris type position where he’s been caught out and his ministers are bailing out on him. [Post edited 25 Dec 2025 1:14]
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Reply | Labour imploding
at 23:43 22 Dec 2025
“The agreement has received cross-party support in Gibraltar, with Chief Minister Fabian Picardo hailing it as an "excellent deal".”
So who exactly has precedence and makes the calls? The people who live on “The Rock” who are directly impacted by the current rules on a day to day basis or people living in the UK some 1500 miles away most of whom don’t give 2 @@@@@ about Gibraltar. |
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Reply | Labour imploding
at 17:04 21 Dec 2025
The elections can only be postponed if the relevant council asks for them to be delayed, if the councils don’t ask the elections can’t be delayed. |
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Reply | Labour imploding
at 17:02 21 Dec 2025
There appears to be some miss information about what exactly could take place, some outlets and parties are saying abc and others xyz.
Starmer isn’t allowed to dictate when the elections take place.
There’s a significant reorganisation of local government taking place in England, they are getting rid of some district and county councils and creating new authorities which will deliver services etc. Some councils are concerned about running the elections when there’s such a huge amount of reorganisation taking place and capacity pressures on organisations and that the elections could undermine the reorganisation work.
It would appear “multiple” councils have approached the about having the elections delayed. As a result, the government have asked English councils undergoing reorganisation whether they need to delay the elections and the government have given the councils a deadline to submit requests to postpone their local elections next May.
Legislation will be needed to delay elections, in line with usual Parliamentary process so it makes sense to ask and be able to plan ahead. Some local elections were delayed in 2019 and it happened again in 2022 obviously under the last 2 Conservative governments, so there is a precedence.
The government have said their starting point is that all elections will go ahead, but that all views will be considered before taking the final decision early next year.
Labour have control of 18 of the councils affected, the Conservatives 9, and the Liberals 7. The conservatives are defending the largest number of seats.
The Liberals and Reform have criticised the plan calling it a Labour and Conservative carve up. The Conservatives have also criticised the plan on the one hand, but Kemi Badenoch has indicated she would not stand in the way of Conservative councils requesting postponements. |
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Reply | Two city rugby
at 23:17 19 Dec 2025
I really dislike the Scarlets but I really really really dislike Cardiff and am pleased that the men from the west put one over on the WRU’s precious Cardiff. |
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Reply | If Cardiff come back up would you want the bubble scrapped ?
at 18:57 19 Dec 2025
I totally agree with you, it would be carnage. If it kicked off large, it could potentially cause a huge amount of damage to the club, sponsors not wanting to be associated with the brand, people staying away etc and it could generally damage Wales as a country.
Leave it as it is. |
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Reply | Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
at 18:51 19 Dec 2025
We went up to watch the Commonwealth Games when they were held there back in 2014, not normally the type of thing I would do, but we really enjoyed. Watched a bit of rugby, cycling, netball and swimming. I’d defo consider going again.
We stayed in Edinburgh and commuted across, was a good choice because the weather on the east coast was so much drier.
In terms of the games moving off terrestrial tv, I think it would be a bad move. [Post edited 19 Dec 2025 18:58]
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Reply | Labour imploding
at 18:52 18 Dec 2025
I’m really hoping we get a coalition with someone sensible ( but I have no idea who at the stage) holding the balance of power so that we get a sensible balanced approach to governing Wales. Big majorities can result in a lack of accountability and dogma driven nonsense. [Post edited 18 Dec 2025 18:53]
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Reply | Harry & Megan Tooze Murde
at 23:10 17 Dec 2025
Totally agree with you.
The graft is generally done by the constables, sergeants and Inspectors, the Det Supt will usually sign off policy etc. [Post edited 17 Dec 2025 23:10]
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Reply | Did anyone vote for this
at 23:06 17 Dec 2025
Many people will argue (and it’s generally been accepted) that Wales was under funded by the Barnett Formula which based it n population share prior to 2019, factors such as pororer health, poverty, poorer infrastructure weren’t factored in. Historically Wales had lower funding pp than England. In 2019 a Need Based Factor which provides Wales with 120% per person of what England receives which is just over the assessed need level of 115%.
On top of that, Westminster under the previous government has ensured that Wales didn’t receive consequential funding from projects such as HS2 as they were treated as England and Wales projects even though there is no direct benefit to Wales (Scotland and NI both received the extra funding to boost infrastructure in those countries). While the funding NBF provides is to be welcomed, it isn't going to make up the shortfall of years of under funding.
The tree planting initiative has cost approximately £270k per year, benefits are reported to include helping tackle climate change, carbon capture, sustainable farming and preventing landslides. The U.K. government (including the previous government) has similar programmes in other parts of the world.
In terms of powers to and budget control, the WG can increase taxes in Wales but when wer3 already he of the poorest regions on the UK it doesn’t make sense to increase taxes on people who can afford it the least.
I agree with the points you make about extra AM’s, I’d reverse it pdq. I’d also look at the number of councils in Wales, I know the move to 22 local authorities was linked to a reduction in town councils etc, but there must be scope to save money through collaborative working.
The 20mph is an issue, it’s been very poorly thought out and implemented. The concept of making roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists is sound. Encouraging more people to use greener environmentally friendly options reduces congestion, delivers health benefits, cost savings etc etc, but it’s not for everyone and it needs a balanced approach.
People living in towns and villages generally support the 20mph in their street, outside their homes etc, but they don’t want to see it in on many of the routes they travel regularly because it’s a pain. There’s a place for 20mph in town centres and places where there’s heavy pedestrian footfall, but I believe trunk roads, sparsely populated areas etc don’t need it. I think a 20mph speed limit is appropriate outside a school between 7.30am and say 18.30pm, but at 2am do we really expect to see kids etc outside a primary school - 20mph at that time is a nonsense and 30 mph would be fine.
I’ll be glad to see the back of Drakers, Gething snd Waters and I’m really hoping Baroness Morgan gets the boot. |
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Reply | Did anyone vote for this
at 18:22 17 Dec 2025
It’s a lot more complicated than just saying the Senedd, but they have to take ownership for some of the mess - in the same way the Conservatives have to take ownership for the mess the U.K. is in.
Wales is amongst the poorest areas of the U.K. poverty, social deprivation poor health outcomes are all interlinked. Having an older population also impacts on outcomes and the budget as older people are a lot more expensive to care for.
Illiterate children is not simply down to the Senedd, parents have to take a lot of responsibility for that. Poorer educational outcomes, that can be in part laid at the local authorities and the Senedd’s door but not illiteracy. We’ve got a whole load of feckless chavs out there who can barely look after themselves bringing up a generation of NEETs - that’s a whole host of problems being built up for future.
In terms of open borders, the last time I looked Westminster was responsible for immigration control.
I for one can’t wait to see the back of Baroness Morgan, Drakers and Vaughn Gething for 3.
Edit -typo. [Post edited 17 Dec 2025 22:02]
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Reply | Harry & Megan Tooze Murders
at 14:13 17 Dec 2025
That’s an interesting development. Their son in law was initially arrested and convicted, but the conviction was quashed about a year later.
South Wales Police went through a pretty torrid time in the 1980’s and 1990’s after a string of miscarriages of justice, (Lynette White, Philip Saunders newsagent, Sandra Phillips (Darvell brothers were convicted, Tooze murder). Cold case DNA reviews have or are taking place according to the media, they’ve nailed Jeffrey Garfoor so let’s hope they can catch the killers who haven’t been banged up. |
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