Insights

Another bad day for the Serious Fraud Office – but what are the broader implications?

On 26 April the SFO’s prosecution of two former directors of Serco Geografix Ltd (“SGL”) collapsed. Unsurprisingly this case has re-ignited questions as to whether the SFO is fit for purpose, but it also shines a light – again – on the contrast between the SFO’s ability to secure lucrative Deferred Prosecution Agreements (“DPAs”) with corporate suspects and its inability to secure convictions of the individuals whose conduct underlies the DPA.

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COVID Status Certificates – A Passport to Freedom?

As the UK lockdown eases, friends and relatives are reuniting, shops are once again welcoming customers, and beer gardens are full of chatter. With GDP down almost 10% in 2020 and many businesses still on their knees as a result of the emergency measures, the Government is keen to ensure that the current momentum continues and the exit from lockdown is irreversible. One method the UK administration – and others around the world – are considering is the introduction of time-limited COVID-status certification to help reopen the economy and society, reduce restrictions on social contact, and improve safety.

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‘All mouth and no trousers’? The new focus on the fight against economic crime, illicit finance and serious and organised crime in the Integrated Review

  1. In its first review of the UK’s security capabilities both at home and abroad since 2015, the Government in its ‘Integrated Review’ (IR) sets out its policy agenda in respect of security, defence and foreign policy for the next four years to 2025. Significantly, we see for the first time in such a review, that the fight against “economic crime” (as well as the inextricably linked issues of “illicit finance” and “serious and organised crime”) is identified as one of the government’s top “priority actions”, recognising that such issues pose a real national security threat to the UK, given the fact they are not confined to the UK’s borders but can arise from any bad actor worldwide and particularly so given the continued rise of cybercrime.
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Responding to Fire Authority Investigations: An Introduction to Fire Safety Enforcement

Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, fire safety has come under ever greater scrutiny. There is increased pressure on responsible persons to comply with fire safety duties and on fire authorities to take enforcement action. To aid regulatory control and enforcement, the Government has published two new bills relevant to fire safety. Against that background, below is a general introduction to fire safety enforcement.

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Tesco receives highest ever food safety fine of £7.56 million for out of date food offences – a regulatory compliance warning for all businesses

On 19 April 2021, Tesco Stores Limited was fined £7.56 million at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to twenty-two out of date food offences which occurred at three of its stores in 2016 and 2017.  The level of fine is unparalleled in food safety prosecutions and one of the highest safety regulatory fines in recent memory.

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