On 4th December 2025 the Chair of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, Lord Hughes, published the report of his inquiry.

Lord Hughes concluded that:

• Dawn Sturgess died on 8 July 2018 as a result of being poisoned by Novichok.
• The same nerve agent had been used in an attempt to assassinate  Sergei Skripal (a former GRU officer) on 4 March 2018 in Salisbury.
• The assassination attempt had been carried out by members of the Russian GRU and  authorised at the highest in Russia, by President Putin.
• The GRU members had recklessly discarded the bottle of Novichok which they had used to carry out the attack. The bottle – disguised as perfume – was picked up by Dawn’s boyfriend and given to her. She had put its contents onto her skin and been fatally poisoned.
• Dawn’s injuries were unsurvivable.
• There were no steps that the British state ought to have taken that would avoided the poisonings of Mr Skripal or of Dawn.

The Inquiry’s report can be read here.

John Beggs KC and James Berry KC appeared for the Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police.

Bridget Dolan KC appeared for South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

In R (Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association) v Police, Fire and Rescue and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire [2025] EWHC 3047 (Admin), Elliot Gold appeared successfully for the Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association (CPOSA) in persuading the High Court that a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has no power to appoint a temporary chief constable.

The judgment has a significant impact on the future appointment of chief constables. In summary:

– A PCC has no power to appoint a temporary chief constable;

– A PCC may only appoint a chief constable after following the full statutory process at Police and Reform Social Responsibility Act 2011 s.38 and sch. 8;

– The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 contains no alternative or implied process for appointment;

– When a chief constable is absent due to suspension or incapacity, a Deputy Chief Constable or designated Assistant Chief Constable becomes the acting chief constable without any act or decision of the PCC, pursuant to Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 s.41.

This does not affect the power of a PCC to require a suspended Chief Constable to resign or retire by following the separate statutory procedure at Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 s.38 and sch. 8. The court acknowledged, on the basis of a submission made by Elliot, that existing temporary chief constables might be regarded as de facto office holders but that any future appointments would be unlawful.

Elliot practises in all areas of police law, including police pay, pensions, powers, policy and misconduct. He is a contributing author to the annual Blackstone’s Police Manual.

Dijen Basu KC acted for the Interested Party Deputy Chief Constable Riggs.

John Beggs KC and Aaron Rathmell acted for the Defendant – the Police Fire & Rescue and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire.

The judgment is here.

Judgment was today handed down in the first case to specifically consider the impact of Re JB [2021] UKSC 52 on the question of capacity to marry. In Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council v EKK [2025] EWCOP 42, Sophia Roper KC and Jake Rylatt successfully argued that the line of authority set out by Munby J in Sheffield CC v E [2004] EWHC 2808 (Fam) remains good law, and that the person specific test, which the local authority contended should now be applied, was wrong.  Mr Justice Trowell accepted that the Sheffield test, which mandates that the question to be asked is does P have capacity to marry, rather than does P have capacity to marry their intended spouse is right as a matter of principle and that it follows the approach endorsed by the current President of the Family Division in PC v City of York Council [2013] EWCA Civ 478. Sophia and Jake were instructed by Caroline Hurst at Simpson Millar LLP on behalf of the Official Solicitor.

At paragraph 46 of his judgment, Trowell J said:

“The approach set out in Sheffield and developed thereafter enables the right balance between the protection of the incapacitous and a restriction on paternalistic involvement of the court.  P needs to have capacity to understand what marriage is.  If P does have that capacity it is not for the court to evaluate the person whom they wish to marry.  To do so would be an overreach of the court’s role.”

Last week, Frances McClenaghan, represented Rafal Kazik at the inquest into the death of his wife, Ilona Kazik.

The coroner found that the care Ilona received at Luton and Dunstable Hospital involved serious failings which “more than minimally contributed” to the onset of a fatal brain haemorrhage following childbirth.

Frances was instructed by Daniella Gregory of Irwin Mitchell.

For press coverage, please see here.

Phase 1 of the Southport Inquiry, chaired by Sir Adrian Fulford has concluded with closing submissions filed on 24 November 2025.

On 29 July 2024, Axel Rudakubana carried out a brutal knife attack at a children’s dance club in Southport.  He murdered 3 young girls, Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King, and injured 10 other people. Sixteen others survived the attack but live with the serious emotional consequences.

Phase 1 of the Inquiry aims to (i) establish a definitive account of the events leading up to the Southport attack and the attack itself; and (ii) review the decision-making and information-sharing by local services and agencies which interacted with Axel Rudakubana prior to the attack to examine whether there were opportunities to manage the risk he posed to the public, making any required recommendations for improvements.

The Inquiry, held in Liverpool Town Hall, heard from around 90 witnesses, with other evidence summarised.

The Inquiry’s Phase 1 report is expected in Spring 2026. Phase 2 will examine the wider issue of young people being drawn into extreme violence.

James Berry KC and Chloe Hill act for Merseyside Police.

John Beggs KC and Oliver Williamson act for Lancashire Police.