David Thorneloe

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‘Hillsborough Law’ to instil duty of candour on UK public bodies in investigations

Sep 25, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | David Thorneloe |Katherine Metcalfe

The Public Authority (Accountability) Bill was published as part of the Reverend James Jones’ report in 2017 into the experience of the Hillsborough families.The draft legislation is set to introduce a legal duty of candour on public officials and public bodies, and make misleading or obstructing investigations a criminal offence.
How the UK public sector can avoid judicial review of its use of AI

Sep 4, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | David Thorneloe |Sue Chadwick

Government departments and public bodies in the UK are increasingly incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) technology to automate their processes and support decision-making. In doing so, they need to ensure they act compatibly with principles of public law; if they fail to, judicial review proceedings could be raised in the courts to scrutinise how they are using AI.
UK Supreme Court rewrites the rules on retained EU case law

Jul 29, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | David Thorneloe

The ruling may prompt the EU to raise concerns with the UK government about UK compliance with the 2019 UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement, and will create greater legal uncertainty for businesses and individuals as to whether other legislation across the UK statute book will be applied retrospectively, contrary to previous expectations.
Announcement of UK general election puts stop to arbitration law reform

May 31, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | David Thorneloe |Scheherazade Dubash

The UK’s Arbitration Bill, which is set to change the arbitration regime has been paused in its current legislative journey through Parliament to become law. The Bill was not included as part of the UK’s pre-election legislative ‘wash-up’ announced earlier this week. The wash-up is the process by which the government agrees with other political parties which laws to rush through the legislative process before parliament is dissolved for a general election, and which to abandon.
Pre-election ‘wash-up’ brings abrupt end to UK government legislative programme

May 30, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | Andrew Henderson |David Thorneloe

Prime minister Rishi Sunak last week announced that a general election will be held on 4 July. It meant that the government had just two days to decide which laws to attempt to rush through the legislative process and which to abandon in the period known as the ‘wash-up’. David Thorneloe, public law and legislation expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “Some lost bills had cross-party support so can be expected to return whatever the outcome of the election.
How does UK pre-election period work and what does it mean for businesses?

May 24, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | Andrew Henderson |David Thorneloe

The pre-election period exists to ensure that the political impartiality of the civil service is upheld during election periods, and to avoid the use of public resources for party political purposes. It applies until a new government is formed and is governed by guidance issued by the Cabinet Office to all civil servants in government departments and other public bodies.
Political activities, donations, and expenditure of UK companies

May 17, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | David Thorneloe

The rules governing this area in the UK are set out in Part 14 of the Companies Act 2006 and Part 2 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, as they apply to companies incorporated in the UK under the Companies Act. The Electoral Commission has also published guidance on political donations, though this is aimed at political parties rather than companies or others. It is not only a gift of money to a political party that constitutes a political donation.
PODCAST: Analysing European court's bombshell climate ruling: will a rash of national cases follow?

Apr 16, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | David Thorneloe

Hello and welcome back to the Pinsent Masons podcast. A look at the world of business law and the news and analysis you need to help your company thrive. My name is Matthew Magee, and this week we'll be finding out just exactly how big of a bombshell last week's European Court of Human Rights ruling was. You'll remember this is one that said that Switzerland's lack of action on climate policy infringed the human rights of members of a group representing older women.
Human rights breaches can arise from climate inaction, ECHR rules

Apr 9, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | David Thorneloe

Governments across Europe can expect added scrutiny of their plans to address the effects of climate change following a “landmark” ruling by the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday, an expert in public and administrative law has said.
Automated Vehicles Bill half-way to becoming UK law

Feb 23, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | David Thorneloe

Automotive manufacturers and other businesses developing components for ‘driverless cars’ and similar self-driving vehicles can be increasingly confident about the future legislative and regulatory landscape they will face in the UK, as the Automated Vehicles Bill progresses through the UK parliament, experts have said.