Latest news with #judicialReview
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Minister may pursue A5 appeal pending executive approval
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has said she is looking at "pursuing" an appeal into a ruling that the construction of the A5 project should not go ahead in its current 58-mile (94km) £1.7bn project was given the green light by Stormont ministers in October last on 23 June a judge ruled that the construction of the project should not go ahead in its current form, saying the Department for Infrastructure's plans did not comply with climate change a press conference on Tuesday, Kimmins said: "It is my intention that we will look at pursuing an appeal that will require executive agreement and we're exploring the logistics in relation to that". "My priority and my determination is that we find a solution and we get this road built so that no more lives are lost," said Kimmins, at a press conference on Tuesday. What is the A5? The road is the Northern Ireland part of the major arterial route that connects the north-west of the island - Donegal and Londonderry - to Dublin, via towns including Strabane, Omagh and than 50 people have died on the A5 since 2006 and campaigners have called for the road to be dual carriageway scheme was first announced back in 2007, but has been beset by a number of judicial review proceedings that culminated in Judge McAlinden's decision on 23 June, involved a group of residents, landowners and farmers who mounted a fresh challenge against the decision to begin construction umbrella group, known as the Alternative A5 Alliance, contended it would breach legislative targets to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. What happened in court? The High Court judgement blocking the upgrade of the A5 road - because the plans did not comply with government climate change targets - shows the reach and impact of Stormont's climate change legislation - but the judgement is clear that shortcomings in the project can be remedied.A solicitor for the Alternative A5 Alliance campaign group, which brought the successful case, said his clients' efforts had been "vindicated" and it was an important day for the campaigners from the Enough is Enough group said they were disappointed with the decision but added the judgement provided a "roadmap" for how the upgrade could proceed.
The National
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Palestine Action mounts legal challenge to block government ban
The UK government's faces a potential hold-up to its plan to proscribe Palestine Action after the group began court action to seek a legal challenge. One of its founders, Huda Ammori, was on Monday granted an urgent hearing in the High Court after she applied for a judicial review of the proposed proscription. A second hearing on Friday, the day the government hoped to pass the legislation, will determine whether or not the proscription can be suspended until July 21, the date when the court is expected to decide whether or not a legal challenge will be accepted. Supporting statements have been submitted by Amnesty International, Liberty and European Legal Support Centre over concerns of unlawful misuse of anti-terror measures to criminalise dissent, a spokesperson for Palestine Action said. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper published a written statement on Monday to lay the order that would make membership and support for the group illegal. If the ban on Palestine Action is approved, it would become a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Ms Ammori said the hearing sought to delay the proscription process to give 'MPs and peers a proper opportunity to debate and scrutinise the proposal'. She warned that the 'many thousands' of people who support Palestine Action faced being 'criminalised overnight' as the Home Secretary was trying to 'steamroll' a ban through parliament. She said she was acting on behalf of 'those of us who would be denied fundamental rights as a result and criminalised as 'terrorists' overnight'. The government's move to proscribe Palestine Action comes after two planes were vandalised at RAF Brize Norton on June 20. Five people have since been arrested by counter-terror police in relation to the incident. Revealing the intention to ban the group following the incident, Ms Cooper said it was the latest in a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action'. Dozens of protesters gathered outside Woolwich Crown Court in London on Monday, at a pre-trial hearing for 18 defendants who belong to Palestine Action and are accused of occupying an Elbit Systems weapons factory in Filton, Bristol, last August. Known as the Filton 18, they were each denied bail and face 21 months in prison before the case goes to trial. The group were charged with criminal damage, violent disorder and aggravated burglary, but the Crown Prosecution Service deemed the alleged actions to have connections to terrorism. The pre-trial hearing will determine what defences the Filton 18 can use during their trial, including whether they will be allowed to explain to the jury their motivation, which Palestine Actions says is to end the continuing Israeli military action in Gaza. Separately, the UK government gained a win on Monday when the High Court ruled that its decision to continue allowing the export of F-35 fighter jet components to Israel was lawful, ending a months-long battle brought by Global Legal Action Network and the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq.
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Palestine Action makes bid to block banning under anti-terror law
Palestine Action today began its legal bid to block the government from putting it on the banned list under anti-terror legislation. An urgent hearing was held in the High Court on Monday related to an application for judicial review on behalf of one of the founders of the direct action group, Huda Ammori. A further hearing will be held on Friday to decide whether the Government can temporarily be blocked from banning the group, pending a hearing to decide whether Palestine Action can bring the legal challenge. A decision on whether the group will be given the green light to bring the legal challenge will be given at a further hearing expected to be held in the week of July 21. It comes after Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. This would make membership and support for the direct action group illegal - punishable by up to 14 years in prison. It is expected MPs and peers will debate the legislation over Wednesday and Thursday and, if approved, the ban could come into force by Friday. Commenting on the hearing, Ms Ammori said: 'I have been left with no choice but to request this urgent hearing and to seek either an injunction or other form of interim relief because of the Home Secretary's decision to try to steamroll this through Parliament immediately, without proper opportunity for MPs and Peers to debate and scrutinise the proposal, or for legal and human rights experts and civil society organisations to make representations, or for those of us who would be denied fundamental rights as a result and criminalised as 'terrorists' overnight, including the many thousands of people who support Palestine Action.' The Government's decision comes after activists associated with Palestine Action vandalized two planes at RAF Brize Norton on June 20. Five people have since been arrested on suspicion of a terror offence in relation to the incident. Unveiling her intention to ban the group on June 23, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said it was the latest in a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action'. The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including stealing and beheading a statue of Israel's first President Chaim Weizman, spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising US President Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is 'concerned in terrorism'. Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al-Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company the Wagner Group. A spokesperson for Palestine Action said: 'Bundling Palestine Action - a domestic civil disobedience protest group - in with foreign neo-Nazi organisations further highlights how unjustified and preposterous the Home Secretary's proposed proscription of Palestine Action is.
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Palestine Action makes legal bid to block government from putting it on the banned list under anti-terror law
Palestine Action today began its legal bid to block the government from putting it on the banned list under anti-terror legislation. An urgent hearing was held in the High Court on Monday related to an application for judicial review on behalf of one of the founders of the direct action group, Huda Ammori. A further hearing will be held on Friday to decide whether the Government can temporarily be blocked from banning the group, pending a hearing to decide whether Palestine Action can bring the legal challenge. A decision on whether the group will be given the green light to bring the legal challenge will be given at a further hearing expected to be held in the week of July 21. It comes after Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. This would make membership and support for the direct action group illegal - punishable by up to 14 years in prison. It is expected MPs and peers will debate the legislation over Wednesday and Thursday and, if approved, the ban could come into force by Friday. Commenting on the hearing, Ms Ammori said: 'I have been left with no choice but to request this urgent hearing and to seek either an injunction or other form of interim relief because of the Home Secretary's decision to try to steamroll this through Parliament immediately, without proper opportunity for MPs and Peers to debate and scrutinise the proposal, or for legal and human rights experts and civil society organisations to make representations, or for those of us who would be denied fundamental rights as a result and criminalised as 'terrorists' overnight, including the many thousands of people who support Palestine Action.' The Government's decision comes after activists associated with Palestine Action vandalized two planes at RAF Brize Norton on June 20. Five people have since been arrested on suspicion of a terror offence in relation to the incident. Unveiling her intention to ban the group on June 23, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said it was the latest in a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action'. The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including stealing and beheading a statue of Israel's first President Chaim Weizman, spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising US President Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. Demonstrators are gathering outside a pre-trial court hearing that begins today to determine what legal defences apply for the group of activists known as 'The Filton 18.' Campaigners are calling for charges to be dropped against the members of Palestine Action, who have been detained under counter-terrorism laws, accused of taking part in a protest action against Israeli weapons manufacture Elbit Systems at a factory near Bristol in August of last year. The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is 'concerned in terrorism'. Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al-Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company the Wagner Group. A spokesperson for Palestine Action said: 'Bundling Palestine Action - a domestic civil disobedience protest group - in with foreign neo-Nazi organisations further highlights how unjustified and preposterous the Home Secretary's proposed proscription of Palestine Action is. 'These foreign organisations are the kind of groups proscription was created to target - not protesters who disrupt arms factories and spray paint on war planes to protest war crimes and genocide.'
The Sun
23-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
China's mega-embassy could still be blocked as residents prepare to drag ministers to court over ‘stitched up' deal
CHINA's mega-embassy in London could still be blocked as furious residents prepare to drag ministers to court over what they say is a stitched-up deal. The £1billion controversial site, set to become Beijing's biggest diplomatic base in Europe, is expected to be waved through by the Government within weeks. 1 But campaigners and residents are preparing a major legal challenge, accusing ministers of having a 'closed mind' from the start. Deputy PM Angela Rayner is understood to have quietly handed the final call to junior minister Matthew Pennycook after the Planning Inspectorate submitted its report earlier this month. A final decision is due by September 9 and the inspector's recommendation, widely expected to back the scheme, will be published alongside it. But the Royal Mint Court Residents Association, backed by more than 50 civil society groups, is now crowdfunding a judicial review. They say the outcome was effectively preordained after Xi Jinping personally lobbied Sir Keir Starmer, and Chinese media claimed the embassy was approved just days after Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited Beijing. A spokesperson the residents told The Sun: "We will fight this every step of the way. "There aren't many of us, and we certainly aren't as powerful as the Chinese Government, but they underestimate us if they think we are giving up our privacy, safety and even our homes without a fight. "We believe there is strong case for judicial review.' The five-acre Royal Mint Court site, next to the Tower of London, sits near sensitive data centres and key government buildings. The embassy plan was rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022 after years of national security concerns. But Chinese officials revived the bid in late 2024 - only after Labour took power. The application was then called in by ministers, stripping the local authority of control. Earlier this month, Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake warned the process may have been unlawfully influenced and called for it to be restarted from scratch. And more than 60 MPs and peers signed a cross-party letter urging the Prime Minister to pause the plan, warning it could give Beijing 'the literal keys to the country.' But the Government dismissed the concerns, saying only that the submission would be placed on file. US officials have also raised the alarm, warning the embassy could give China access to sensitive communications and jeopardise intelligence sharing. Luke de Pulford, of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, added: 'It is a sorry state of affairs when we have to rely on a group of doughty residents to defend UK national security. "Barring miracles, their legal challenge is the only way to stop this train-wreck. Let's all get behind these brave residents.'
