Category Archives: UK supreme court

Impasse over EHRC single-sex spaces guidance ‘distracting from other issues’

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Staff at human rights body said to be ‘desperate for regime change’ over inertia after court’s legal definition of a woman

The ongoing impasse over guidance from the UK’s human rights watchdog on access to single-sex spaces is distracting from other pressing issues, including the rise of the far right, insiders have told the Guardian.

Some members of staff at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are described as “desperate for regime change” ahead of the new chair, Mary-Ann Stephenson, taking up her post in December.

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Bahrain to argue at UK supreme court it has immunity from surveillance claims

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Gulf nation is accused of placing monitoring software on computers of two dissidents living in London

Bahrain is to tell the UK’s supreme court that it enjoys sovereign immunity from claims it placed surveillance software on the computers of two dissidents when they were living in London.

The Gulf country has lost the sovereign immunity claim both in the high court and court of appeal, and a decision to take the case further to the supreme court shows how important it is to the country’s reputation.

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Rape victims in Scotland will be protected when giving evidence, says lord advocate

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Supreme court ruled ‘rape shield’ laws to limit intrusive cross-examination may breach men’s right to fair trial

Scotland’s most senior law officer has moved to reassure victims of sexual abuse that they will be protected after a supreme court ruling warned that Scottish laws designed to limit intrusive cross-examination could be breaching men’s right to a fair trial.

In a strongly worded statement, the lord advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, said: “I would like to make clear that I understand sexual abuse inflicted upon women and children to be the single greatest challenge our justice system faces.

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Millions in line for payouts from £18bn car loan compensation scheme

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City regulator says motorists should start to get payments in 2026 with ‘most payouts likely to be under £950’

Millions of drivers could be handed a share of a multibillion-pound compensation package after the City regulator said it would open a redress scheme for consumers affected by the car finance scandal.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will consult on the redress scheme, which could cost banks between £9bn and £18bn when it begins paying consumers compensation next year.

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Chancellor’s attempt to intervene in car finance scandal branded ‘disgraceful’

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Defending industry over consumers sends ‘really bad message’, says Treasury committee member Bobby Dean

Rachel Reeves’ efforts to intervene in the supreme court case on the car finance scandal were “unprecedented and disgraceful” and send a “really bad message” to consumers that the government is willing to defend wrongdoing by banks, Treasury committee member and Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean has said.

While the supreme court largely sided with finance companies on Friday – helping lenders avoid a £44bn compensation bill – Dean said the chancellor had gone too far to show she was on the side of business.

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Chancellor’s attempt to intervene in car finance scandal branded ‘disgraceful’

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Defending industry over consumers sends ‘really bad message’, says Treasury committee member Bobby Dean

Rachel Reeves’ efforts to intervene in the supreme court case on the car finance scandal were “unprecedented and disgraceful” and send a “really bad message” to consumers that the government is willing to defend wrongdoing by banks, Treasury committee member and Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean has said.

While the supreme court largely sided with finance companies on Friday – helping lenders avoid a £44bn compensation bill – Dean said the chancellor had gone too far to show she was on the side of business.

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LGBTQ+ charities warn of ‘genuine crisis’ for trans people after UK ruling

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Charities say the judgment creates ‘a legal framework that simply cannot uphold the dignity’ of trans people

Fourteen national LGBTQ+ charities have written to Keir Starmer seeking an urgent meeting to discuss what they describe as “a genuine crisis for the rights, dignity and inclusion of trans people in the UK” after the supreme court’s ruling on biological sex.

The UK supreme court ruled last month that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 referred only to “a biological woman” and to “biological sex”, with subsequent advice from the equality watchdog amounting to a blanket ban on trans people using toilets and other services of the gender they identify as.

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Trans people banned from toilets of gender they identify with, says UK minister

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Pat McFadden says ‘there isn’t going to be toilet police’ amid warnings about ‘incredibly dangerous’ consequences

A UK government minister has said trans people are now banned from using toilets of the gender they identify as, amid warnings about the “incredibly dangerous” consequences of such a blanket prohibition.

The UK supreme court ruled earlier this month that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act referred only to a biological woman and to biological sex.

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UK ministers face questions over supreme court gender ruling repercussions

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Labour backbenchers demand clarity on practical impact of transgender people’s use of toilets and hospital wards

Ministers have come under pressure to provide answers on how last week’s supreme court ruling on gender identity will affect the daily lives of transgender people, amid confusion over issues such as toilet provision and hospital wards.

Keir Starmer said he welcomed what he called “real clarity” and “a welcome step forward” in his first response to the court decision, which ruled that “woman” in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman.

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Badenoch says Labour’s claims to have always defended single-sex spaces are a ‘shameless work of fiction’ – UK politics live

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Minister for women and equality makes statement after supreme court ruling on gender recognition

Some MPs and peers are calling for President Trump not to be invited to address parliament when he visits the UK. In 2017, during Trump’s first presidency, the then Speaker, John Bercow, vetoed a proposal for Trump to address parliamentarians in Westminster Hall.

In an interview with Times Radio this morning, Stephen Morgan, an education minister, said Trump should be allowed to give a speech in parliament. Asked if Trump should be allowed to address MPs and peers, Morgan said:

I look forward to the US president addressing parliament in due course.

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‘One hell of a turnout’: trans activists rally in London against gender ruling

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Thousands gather in Parliament Square in a show of unity after supreme court judgment

After last week’s supreme court decision, activists had been worried that trans people might become fearful of going out in public in case they were abused.

They weren’t afraid in London on Saturday. Thousands of trans and non-binary people thronged Parliament Square, alongside families and supporters waving baby blue, white and pink flags to demonstrate their anger at the judges’ ruling.

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UK supreme court ruling on legal definition of woman ‘brings clarity and confidence’, says government – live

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Judges say definition of women and sex in Equality Act 2010 act refers to biological women and biological sex

The definition of a woman and sex in the Equality Act relates to “a biological woman and biological sex”, the supreme court has ruled as it unanimously allowed an appeal from gender critical campaign group For Women Scotland.

A possible outcome of the case is that the court will agree with the previous interpretation of the law as it stands, but suggest parliament considers amending the Equality Act to deal with these previously unforeseen consequences.

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Gender critical campaigners win at UK supreme court over definition of woman

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Judges rule that Equality Act definition excludes transgender women holding gender recognition certificates

Gender critical rights campaigners have won their supreme court challenge over the definition of a woman.

Five judges from the UK supreme court ruled unanimously that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 did not include transgender women who hold gender recognition certificates (GRCs).

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Ex-supreme court judge says ‘arguable case’ Israel’s conduct in Gaza is genocidal

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Lord Sumption says Israel’s actions ‘grossly disproportionate’ and in new book points to suppression of free speech over Palestinian cause

A former UK supreme court judge has described Israel’s assault on Gaza as “grossly disproportionate” and said there was “at least an arguable case” that it was genocidal.

Lord Sumption, who served on the UK’s highest court from 2012 to 2018, was one of the highest profile signatories of a letter last year warning that the UK government was breaching international law by arming Israel.

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Sunak says ‘all sides should show restraint’ after Iranian attack on Israel – as it happened

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British PM says he will speak to Netanyahu to express solidarity and discuss how further escalation can be avoided

UK general election opinion poll tracker: Labour leading as election looms

David Cameron ruled out trying to become PM again in an interview this morning. (See 9.30am.) But Liz Truss has not done so. In an interview with LBC’s Iain Dale, being broadcast tonight, she did not entirely dismiss the possibility. This is from LBC’s Henry Riley.

Truss is giving interviews to publicise her memoir which is out this week. According to extracts sent out in advance, she also confirmed in her LBC interview that she wanted to see Donald Trump win the US presidential election. She said:

I don’t think [Joe] Biden has been particularly supportive to the United Kingdom. I think he’s often on the side of the EU. And I certainly think I would like to see a new president in the White House …

The thing I would say about Donald Trump is, because I served as secretary of state under both Trump and Biden, and Trump’s policies were actually very effective. If you look at his economic policies, and I met his regulatory czar, I travelled around the United States looking at what he’d done. He cut regulation, he cut taxes, he liberated the US energy supply. And this is why the US has had significantly higher economic growth than Britain.

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Fourth former UK supreme court judge signs letter over Israeli actions in Gaza

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Number of signatories warning Sunak over breach of international law in arming Israel rises to more than 750

A fourth former supreme court justice has put his name to a letter warning Rishi Sunak that the UK is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel, as the number of legal experts signing the letter rose to more than 750.

Lord Carnwath joins Lady Hale, who was president of the UK’s highest court, and lords Sumption and Wilson, in urging ministers to act to prevent the “plausible risk” of genocide in Gaza.

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Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law

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Exclusive: More than 600 prominent lawyers sign letter that calls for end to exports as a ‘measure to prevent’ genocide

Three former supreme court justices, including the court’s former president Lady Hale, are among more than 600 lawyers, academics and retired senior judges warning that the UK government is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel.

In a letter to the prime minister, the signatories, who also include former court of appeal judges and more than 60 KCs, say that the present situation in Gaza is “catastrophic” and that given the international court of justice (ICJ) finding that there is a plausible risk of genocide being committed, the UK is legally obliged to act to prevent it.

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Transgender judge seeks leave to intervene in UK court case over legal definition of ‘woman’

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Victoria McCloud wants leave to join litigation in supreme court appeal brought by For Women Scotland

The UK’s first transgender judge is seeking leave to join the litigation in a crucial supreme court case that could significantly affect legal protections for transgender women, the Guardian has learned.

Victoria McCloud, a senior civil judge who became the youngest person appointed as master of the high court in 2010, will make an application to intervene in the supreme court appeal brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland about the legal definition of “woman”. Interveners can put a case without being among the main parties to the litigation.

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No 10 says it will produce ‘emergency’ bill to show Rwanda safe country ‘in coming weeks’ – as it happened

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Downing Street says legislation will make clear ‘Rwanda is safe’ and will address court’s concerns after policy ruled unlawful. This live blog is closed

At his Institute for Government Q&A Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan police, refused to say what he felt about Lee Anderson, the Conservative party deputy chair, declaring yesterday that ministers should just ignore the supreme court judgment saying the Rwanda police was unlawful. Asked to respond, Rowley just said:

Politicians hold me to account, I don’t hold them to account.

Starmer travelled north of the border just hours after a revolt within his party over a ceasefire in Gaza resulted in the resignation of eight of his frontbenchers.

The Labour leader highlighted what he described as the “failure” of the UK government to negotiate a trade deal with India, a key exporter for Scotch whisky.

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Rishi Sunak ‘working on new Rwanda treaty’ after deportation policy ruled unlawful – UK politics live

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Prime minister says he is prepared to ‘revisit legal frameworks’ to stop the boats as supreme court says policy is unlawful

Reed says the court has had to decide whether the Rwanda policy breaches the non-refoulement rule.

The policy is in the Home Office’s immigration rules, he says.

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