Latest news with #SolicitorGeneral
Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill risks unravelling Windsor Framework
As a former Solicitor General and Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee, I am no stranger to the legal complexities that arise when Westminster legislation intersects with our post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland. Yet even by those standards, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill now before Parliament represents an extraordinary and avoidable collision course with the law. Ministers have sheepishly suggested that the Bill does not affect trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. That is a surprising conclusion, and, in my view, a legally indefensible one. As someone who helped oversee the legal machinery of government, I can say this plainly: legislation that purports to apply across the UK but cannot lawfully operate in Northern Ireland is both constitutionally and legally incoherent. The problem is relatively straightforward. Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland continues to follow key parts of EU law to maintain access to the EU Single Market for goods. One such law is the 2014 EU Tobacco Products Directive, which mandates that tobacco can be legally sold to adults aged 18 and over. The UK Bill proposes a generational ban, effectively criminalising the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2008. The contradiction is obvious. If the Bill applies UK-wide, Northern Ireland will be out of step with EU law. If the Bill is not enforceable in Northern Ireland, then the UK's internal market will be fragmented. Either outcome exposes the UK to legal challenge and breaches the treaty obligations we signed only last year. The Windsor Framework is not merely political scaffolding; it is now part of an international treaty that carries direct effect in UK law. As I saw time and again during my tenure as Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee, the unique legal position of Northern Ireland requires careful and nuanced handling. Blunt instruments like this Bill risk unravelling the hard-won gains of recent years. The legal risk is not hypothetical. The courts in Northern Ireland – in cases such as Dillon v Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, have confirmed their power to dis-apply UK legislation that contravenes the Framework. The relevant test, long established, would be easily met here. The right to purchase legal goods, like tobacco, is an economic right protected under the Framework and the Good Friday Agreement. To remove that right in Northern Ireland, by domestic legislation that conflicts with EU law, would be a direct breach of both. It is simply inconceivable that such a law could stand in Northern Ireland without falling foul of the courts. I say this not as a political opponent of the Bill's objectives, (I actually voted in favour of the Bill in principle under the last government) but as a KC who has spent years navigating the legal thickets of post-Brexit Britain. The law matters. International obligations matter. Our constitutional order depends on Parliament respecting both. I have been greatly disappointed by the level of forensic legal rigour applied to the Bill that is required for it to get muscular enough to be considered remotely workable. The choice now before Parliament is not whether to press ahead with the generational ban. It is whether to press ahead lawfully. That cannot be done until the UK secures agreement through the UK–EU Joint Committee or expressly exempts Northern Ireland from the scope of the Bill. Until then, the Government must pause this legislation. Anything less risks breaching international law, undermining the internal market, and inviting yet another avoidable constitutional crisis.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Man who filmed rape of woman has sentence increased
A man who filmed himself raping a vulnerable woman after a night out has had his six-year sentence increased after senior judges ruled it was unduly lenient. Gagandeep Gulati sent videos he took of the attack, in Castle Gardens in Leicester last September, to others before telling police he was the one who had been raped and sexually assaulted by the victim. The 20-year-old was convicted of rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault and sharing or threatening to share an intimate photograph or film, and sentenced at Leicester Crown Court in March. However, the Court of Appeal increased that to nine years following a hearing on Thursday. The case was referred by Solicitor General Lucy Rigby under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. The court also imposed concurrent sentences for the assault by penetration and sexual assault of four years and six months respectively. It further ruled the offence of sharing or threatening to share an intimate photograph or film would be quashed, because it was incorrectly tried in a crown court, instead treating the filming as an aggravating feature of the rape. Lord Justice Popplewell, one of a panel of three judges, said Gulati's motive for taking videos of the attack was "seeking to give the false impression of consent", which was a "significant aggravating factor". He concluded that the original sentence "was not merely lenient, but unduly so". The judge said Gulati, then aged 19, encountered his victim in Leicester city centre on 23 September as they both made their way home from nights out. He took the woman, who was intoxicated, to a secluded location in the park and attacked her. After his arrest, Gulati, then studying business at university in the city, told police: "She forced me, I did not force her. I am a religious person. I did not do anything wrong." Lord Justice Popplewell said Gulati told police that his victim forced herself on him, and that he had considered reporting her to the authorities. Gulati also suggested that the videos he took showed "he was afraid for his life at the time of the activity", the judge said. After being convicted, the sentencing judge said that Gulati filming the attack was "nothing more than a cynical and contrived attempt to protect himself" and showed him "boasting of his predatory sexual prowess". After the hearing, the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby welcomed the increased sentence. "Gagandeep Gulati's rape of a vulnerable young woman before sharing his awful crimes with other people was sickening," she added. Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Man who filmed rape of woman in park jailed HM Courts and Tribunals Service Leicestershire Police
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Man who filmed himself raping woman has sentence increased
A man who filmed himself raping a vulnerable woman after a night out has had his six-year sentence increased after senior judges ruled it was unduly Gulati sent videos he took of the attack, in Castle Gardens in Leicester last September, to others before telling police he was the one who had been raped and sexually assaulted by the 20-year-old was convicted of rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault and sharing or threatening to share an intimate photograph or film, and sentenced at Leicester Crown Court in the Court of Appeal increased that to nine years following a hearing on Thursday. The case was referred by Solicitor General Lucy Rigby under the Unduly Lenient Sentence court also imposed concurrent sentences for the assault by penetration and sexual assault of four years and six months further ruled the offence of sharing or threatening to share an intimate photograph or film would be quashed, because it was incorrectly tried in a crown court, instead treating the filming as an aggravating feature of the Justice Popplewell, one of a panel of three judges, said Gulati's motive for taking videos of the attack was "seeking to give the false impression of consent", which was a "significant aggravating factor".He concluded that the original sentence "was not merely lenient, but unduly so". The judge said Gulati, then aged 19, encountered his victim in Leicester city centre on 23 September as they both made their way home from nights took the woman, who was intoxicated, to a secluded location in the park and attacked his arrest, Gulati, then studying business at university in the city, told police: "She forced me, I did not force her. I am a religious person. I did not do anything wrong."Lord Justice Popplewell said Gulati told police that his victim forced herself on him, and that he had considered reporting her to the also suggested that the videos he took showed "he was afraid for his life at the time of the activity", the judge being convicted, the sentencing judge said that Gulati filming the attack was "nothing more than a cynical and contrived attempt to protect himself" and showed him "boasting of his predatory sexual prowess".After the hearing, the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby welcomed the increased sentence."Gagandeep Gulati's rape of a vulnerable young woman before sharing his awful crimes with other people was sickening," she added.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- The Independent
Man who filmed himself raping woman has ‘unduly lenient' sentence increased
A man who filmed himself raping a vulnerable woman after a night out before claiming she had 'forced' him to commit the offence has had his prison sentence increased after the Court of Appeal ruled it was 'unduly lenient'. Gagandeep Gulati, 20, sent some of the nine videos he took of the attack in Leicester last September to others before telling police that he was the victim in the incident. He was convicted at Leicester Crown Court in March of rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault and sharing or threatening to share an intimate photograph or film, and sentenced to six years' imprisonment in a young offenders institution. Barristers for the Solicitor General, Lucy Rigby, told the Court of Appeal on Thursday that the sentence was 'unduly lenient' and should be increased, while lawyers for Gulati claimed that it was appropriate. Three senior judges ruled that the sentence for the rape should be increased to nine years, while imposing concurrent sentences for the assault by penetration and sexual assault of four years and six months respectively. Lord Justice Popplewell, Mr Justice Bryan and Judge Martin Picton also ruled that the offence of sharing or threatening to share an intimate photograph or film would be quashed as a nullity due to it having been incorrectly tried in a Crown Court, instead treating the filming as an aggravating feature of the rape. Lord Justice Popplewell said that Gulati's motive for taking videos of the attack was 'seeking to give the false impression of consent', which was a 'significant aggravating factor'. He concluded that the original sentence 'was not merely lenient, but unduly so'. The judge said that Gulati, then aged 19, encountered his victim in Leicester city centre on the night of September 23 last year as they both made their way home from nights out. He took the woman, whom Mr Justice Bryan described as 'completely out of it' due to being intoxicated, to a secluded location in the city's Castle Gardens and attacked her. After his arrest, Gulati, then studying business at university in the city, told police: 'She forced me, I did not force her. I am a religious person. I did not do anything wrong.' Lord Justice Popplewell said Gulati told police that his victim forced herself on him, and that he had considered reporting her to the authorities. Gulati also suggested that the videos he took of the incident showed 'he was afraid for his life at the time of the activity', the judge said. After being convicted, the sentencing judge said that Gulati filming the attack was 'nothing more than a cynical and contrived attempt to protect himself' and showed him 'boasting of his predatory sexual prowess'. Dan Bishop, for the Solicitor General, told the hearing on Thursday that Gulati's crimes were 'serious sexual offences' against 'a highly vulnerable victim … who was unable to consent'. He said that the sentence was 'not just a lenient sentence, but was one that was unduly lenient'. Katya Saudek, for Gulati, said his future opportunities had been 'completely destroyed by his own opportunistic actions'. She said: 'I can't say it was not a generous sentence, I can't say it was not lenient, but in my submission not unduly lenient.' Gulati, who appeared at the hearing via video link from HMP Swinfen Hall in Staffordshire, showed no immediate reaction as his sentence was increased. Ms Rigby said: 'Gagandeep Gulati's rape of a vulnerable young woman before sharing his awful crimes with other people was sickening. 'I welcome the court's decision to increase his sentence following my intervention.'
BBC News
19-06-2025
- BBC News
Bedworth paedophile Joshua Wilson's jail term extended
A man who posed as a young boy to ask a nine-year-old girl to send nude pictures has had his jail term Wilson, 27, of Alice Close, Bedworth, pretended to be a 12-year-old boy when he contacted the girl on her phone, in who pleaded guilty to a series of offences, was initially jailed for four years, after a hearing at Warwick Crown Court on 7 after Solicitor General Lucy Rigby referred his case to the Court of Appeal, saying the jail term was too lenient, Wilson's sentence was increased to five years and 10 months. The court heard Wilson had contacted two children on social media, between May and September requested nude images and sent sexually-explicit images of himself to one of them. Family spotted messages Then in October 2024, following his arrest and while on bail, he contacted the girl, aged nine, on a social media site and asked her to send was reported by the girl's family, after they had spotted the messages on her was found to have numerous indecent images of children and had uploaded some on to an instant messaging service. Welcoming the increased sentence, Rigby said: "Joshua Wilson's crimes were sickening. He sought to befriend and sexually exploit vulnerable children."Wilson had pleaded guilty to attempting to cause a child to look at an image of sexual activity, causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, two counts of engaging in sexual communications with a child and three counts of making an indecent image of children. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
