Is the Serious Fraud Office “on the ropes” as the headline in a recent Financial Times article declared? Was the former anti-corruption tsar Ken Clarke right in 2014 when he told SFO Director David Green that he had “always thought the SFO was a load of crap”? And if so, why is it that the UK is so poor at investigating financial crimes in comparison with other countries?

Does the recent announcement of SFO Director Nick Ephgrave’s early retirement, the collapse of the London Mining case, and the two-year postponement of the Patisserie Valerie trial provide yet more evidence that the SFO is a doomed organisation, ripe for merger into the planned new National Police Service?

To discuss the continuing problems that plague the SFO’s ability to be seen as a fearsome, fraud busting organisation, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined once again by leading financial crime Silk Ian Winter KC. The trio also debate the pros and cons of the Government’s proposal to do away with juries in “suitably technical and lengthy” fraud and financial crime cases and consider the implications of Supreme Court President Lord Reed’s call for more criminal appeals to be considered by the top court in the face of a concern that the Court of Appeal Criminal Division has for many years demonstrated institutional reluctance to certify points of law with the result that very few criminal appeals ever reach the Supreme Court.

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.    ​

​
What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.   ​

​
Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.    ​

​
Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. ​​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. ​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.​

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How far away is the reality of an artificial "legal brain” thanks to the extraordinary speed of developments in AI? With the CEOs of the key frontier labs (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepMind) predicting that “lift off” (meaning the point at which AI is sufficiently autonomous to improve itself faster than humans can improve it) may be here within 1-2 years what are the implications for the law and the regulation of lawyers?

To answer these and other questions, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by their Matrix Chambers colleague and AI/media law expert, Zoe McCallum. They discuss the extraordinary feud that has erupted in the USA between Anthropic and the Pentagon in the wake of revelations that Anthropic’s AI tool, Claude Opus, was used by the US Department of War to help plan and execute the kidnap of Venezuelan President Maduro in breach of Anthropic’s ethical “red lines” (no use of its products for autonomous weapons systems).

They also discuss Anthropic’s announcement that its most powerful model yet (Mythos) is “too dangerous to release” in light of its capacity to expose major flaws in every major operating system and web browser – a perfect gift to hostile States engaged in cyber-warfare.

Finally, the trio address the question – can an AI tool be liable for false and defamatory statements under the Defamation Act 2013? Indeed can AI even be said to hold an opinion?

Disclaimer: In this show we discuss some of the issues associated with use of recent AI models. Nothing in the show is intended to be specific advice or recommendation as to use.  Listeners who are barristers are referred to the BSB’s guidance on the use of AI at https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/resource/updated-guidance-on-generative-ai-for-the-bar.html.

Judges are referred to https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/artificial-intelligence-ai-judicial-guidance-october-2025/.  

And solicitors are referred to https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/ai-and-lawtech/generative-ai-the-essentials.

--

Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.  ​

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.  ​

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.  ​

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. ​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. ​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On 21st April, almost two months since the US launched Operation Epic Fury “to destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy Iran’s navy and other security infrastructure” and “finally ensure that Iran will never have nuclear weapons”, the Office of the Legal Adviser to the State Department issued a detailed justification of the legality of the attack, asserting that the US “is acting well within the recognised contours of international law relating to the use of force and self-defence” (StateOperation Epic Fury and International Law - United States Department of State)

To discuss the State Department Opinion, issued in the name of Legal Adviser Reed D Rubinstein, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by the highly distinguished American academic, Professor Rebecca Ingber of the Cardozo School of Law (Rebecca Ingber). An expert in international law, national security, foreign relations law and constitutional separation of powers, Rebecca served as the Counselor on International Law in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the State Department between 2021-2023 and she brings practical experience of government service and academic expertise to dissect the various strands of the State Department’s belated legal justification for the war against Iran. Does the theory of a “continuing armed conflict” between Iran and the US/Israel, possibly dating back as far as 1979, stand up to legal scrutiny so that there was no need for a fresh assessment of necessity/proportionality before attacking Iran on 28th February ?

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.    

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.   

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.    

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. 

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. 

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With numerous former senior civil servants attacking Keir Starmer for his decision to sack Sir Olly Robbins – former Cabinet Secretary Lord Gus O'Donnell says the sacking “risks having a serious and sustained chilling effect on serving and prospective civil servants” - Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC examine the claim by those defending Robbins that he was forbidden by law from disclosing to Starmer even the bare outcome of Mandelson’s developed vetting process by UK Security Vetting.  

Does - as previous FCDO Perm Sec Lord Simon McDonald has said - the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and the terms of the Civil Service Code have the legal consequence that any disclosure to Ministers, including the Prime Minister, of any aspect of the developed vetting process is contrary to law? Or is this just an example of the Mandarin class being addicted to secrecy and control to the point that deprives Ministers of obviously relevant material for no clear legal reason?

Following on from last week’s episode with Kathleen Stock on the Assisted Dying Bill, Ken and Tim reflect on the briefing paper drafted by Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision which sets out the blatant efforts of 7 Peers to talk the Bill out in the Lords in full knowledge that were the House of Lords to be allowed to vote on it, the Bill would be passed - https://humanists.uk/2026/04/20/lords-assisted-dying-debate-transcript-is-longer-than-war-and-peace-filibuster-clear-and-obvious/#:~:text=Humanists%20UK%20and%20My%20Death%2C%20My%20Decision,the%20filibuster%2C%20and%20the%20final%20debate%20will.

Finally, Ken and Tim discuss the legitimacy and future of private prosecutions in the wake of a scathing judgment issued last week by Senior District Judge Goldspring at Westminster Magistrates' Court in response to an attempt by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians to issue a summons alleging a breach of the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 against a dual British-Israel citizen who had re-enlisted in the Israel Defense Force in October 2023 - https://www.scribd.com/document/1028546698/ICJP-v-A-judgment?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.    ​

​

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.   ​

​

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.    ​

​

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. ​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. ​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.​

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill apparently doomed to extinction thanks to the co-ordinated efforts of a handful of Peers determined to ensure it cannot complete scrutiny in the House of Lords, the future looks bleak for any form of assisted dying legislation to become law in the UK any time soon.

To discuss the arguments for and against the Leadbeater Bill, Ken and Tim – both supporters of some form of assisted dying legislation – are joined by philosopher and writer Kathleen Stock to discuss her new book Do Not Go Gentle, which is a vivid, fierce and, at times, angry secular polemic against a state-assisted death service, regardless of the circumstances of those who may wish such assistance.

Stock argues that state-sanctioned assisted dying is a “moral disaster” against which we should rage rather than a liberal, progressive development. Resting her thesis on the idea that the “right to die” is a hollow concept that creates more harm than freedom, Kathleen challenges the illusion of autonomy that she says underpins the thinking of those who support assisted dying and warns of the slippery slope that inevitably, she says, expands the criteria from those with a terminal diagnosis to include chronic pain, disability, and those struggling with mental health issues.

In a lively debate, Ken and Tim challenge Kathleen’s description of the campaign for the Leadbeater Bill as a “hobby horse of the comfortable and the rich who have a fear of death and believe they have a right to control when they die”, and argue that the experience of countries which have had assisted dying legislation on the statute book for many years does not support her dystopian view of the UK once state-assisted dying is lawful in some, albeit limited, circumstances.

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future. 

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays. 

​

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.  ​

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. ​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. ​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On 19th March 2026 the Chief Inspector of Prisons issued an Urgent Notification placing Woodhill Prison into special measures (https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/hmp-woodhill-urgent-notification-2/).    

On the same day he published a truly shocking report into HMP Swaleside (https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/hmp-swaleside-5/), another jail in the long-term high secure estate holding some of the most dangerous men in the country.

Coming less than 18 months after an Urgent Notification was issued at HMP Manchester, the Inspectorate’s findings reveal a disturbing, indeed shameful, picture of systemic failure and loss of control in UK prisons. 

To discuss the role and work of the Prisons Inspectorate and his recent Reports into Woodhill, Swaleside and Manchester prisons, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, for a wide-ranging discussion on the truly dreadful state of our prison system.   

How is it possible that in supposedly high-secure prisons, “very high levels of violence affect every aspect of prison life” and “drug taking is rife with drones regularly bringing contraband, including knives, into the jail” as the Swaleside Report found?

What does it say about the ability of the Ministry of Justice to manage our prison system that wings at Swaleside are “filthy with too many cells in a poor state of repair with widespread graffiti, fire damage, broken furniture, dilapidated flooring and showers that are dirty, mouldy and poorly maintained”?  Why is it impossible for the Prison Service to recruit and retain experienced staff to manage the volatile and complex population of the long term estate? 

With these prisons failing in their core functions as training prisons, with too many men with nothing to do all day and activities that might improve employability on release having ceased due to cuts to education provision, what hope is there that any prisoner will emerge better than when they began their sentence? 

-- 

Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.      

 
What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.     

  
Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.      

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law.   

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape.   

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2026 US/Israel war against Iran is a rapidly evolving, multi-front war.  What started as a massive joint air campaign (Operation Epic Fury) and involved the execution of Ayatollah Ali Khameini and some 40 other senior Iranian leaders and key military commanders has expanded into a regional confrontation involving cyber warfare, energy blockades and direct missile exchanges without any current sign of an uprising by the Iranian people to topple the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Hormuz Straits remain effectively closed to Western-aligned commercial traffic, creating a looming crisis of global economic disaster.  

Following their discussion with Shadow Attorney General Lord Wolfson KC in the 4th March episode on the legality of the initial US/Israel attack on 28th February 2026, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined once again by LSE Professor of International Law, Devika Hovell, to continue the debate on the international law issues generated by the Iran War.   

What are the international law rules which govern the use of force by States as established in the 1837 Caroline Criteria and the UN Charter? To what extent have those rules developed to reflect the reality of a nuclear threat represented by a rogue State actor such as Iran? Has the “imminence” test inherent in the justification for anticipatory self-defence developed so as to permit an attack from the moment a hostile actor acquires the capability to destroy you using nuclear weapons rather than when they actually push the button? And is Trump’s threat to obliterate Iran’s power generation system a threat to commit a war crime, with obvious implications for the UK’s continued willingness to permit the US to use UK bases for bombing raids on Iran? 

-- 

Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future. 

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.     

  
Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.      

  
Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law.   

  
Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape.   

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With world events continuing to dominate the domestic news agenda, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC respond to a range of listeners’ questions generated by recent episodes. 

What explains the huge gap which has emerged between the broad consensus among international lawyers that the US/Israel attack on Iran was illegal and the mild or even supportive reactions given to Operation Epic Fury by many States? Ken and Tim respond to the many questions from listeners who disagreed with Shadow AG Lord Wolfson KC’s confident assertion that the attack was both legally and morally justified and debate the thoughtful article by Professors Yuval Shany and Amichai Cohen which argues that the move towards the “illegal but legitimate” justification presents a grave challenge to the Rules Based International Order - https://www.justsecurity.org/133292/international-law-crossroads/ 

What is the legal basis for restricting public comments on the active police investigations into allegations of misconduct in public office by Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and how can such comments be said to prejudice an investigation as opposed to an actual trial?   

Has the UK become too much of a “lawyerly” society and to what extent does the culture of legalism, process and institutional caution hold back policy making and ultimately economic growth?  Ken and Tim discuss the expansion of judicial review and the link to populist disillusion with the rule of law. 

Finally, the duo reflect on the Second Reading Vote on the Courts and Tribunals Bill and Ken questions why the Government hasn’t opted to extend the Scottish system, whereby it is the prosecutor fiscal who holds the exclusive power to determine mode of trial, to England and Wales. 

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Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.      

  
What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.     

  
Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.      

  
Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law.   

  
Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape.   

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Undaunted by near unanimous opposition from the legal profession, the Government last week published the Courts and Tribunals Bill which, if enacted, will mean that roughly half of cases currently tried by juries will be decided either by magistrates or a single Crown Court Judge. And to discuss the content and implications of the bill, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by the Chief Executive of JUSTICE, Fiona Rutherford who, in a previous life, was the Director of Access to Justice Policy at the Ministry of Justice as well as holding other frontline policy roles in the criminal justice sector.

Given David Lammy’s denunciation of previous Conservative Government proposals to limit jury trial in a series of 2020 tweets – “the opportunity to be judged by 12 peers is vital to prevent bias and ensure justice”, “the right to trial by your fellow citizens is fundamental to our democracy. It would be wrong of the government to abandon this valuable tradition for short-term benefit” – how on earth is he the right person to advocate such radical measures to undermine our system of trial by jury in all triable either way cases where the sentence can be up to three years imprisonment? In light of Lammy’s 2017 Independent Review into the treatment of BAME individuals in the criminal justice system, on what basis does he now believe that forcing more defendants to face trial by an unrepresentative body of lay Magistrates will be a fairer way of delivering justice?

And what lies behind the Courts Minister’s sudden awakening to the idea that abandoning trial by jury for a vast swathe of cases will actually be fairer for everyone as a matter of principle and that she would be advocating in favour of the reform proposals even if there was no Crown Court backlog? Finally, as the House of Commons begins its Second Reading of the Courts and Tribunals Bill, Ken, Tim and Fiona consider the prospects of another government U-turn in the face of reports of growing Labour backbench concern that the Lammy reform package will damage Labour’s commitment to justice and fairness without actually tackling the endemic problems which are the cause of the backlog. 

--

Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.      

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays. 

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights. 

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. 

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. 

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Operation Epic Fury, the US/Israel attack on Iran, triggering reprisals by Iran that risk the stability of the entire Gulf Region, what are the shifting international law justifications for the initial attack? And was the Starmer/Hermer explanation for the UK’s cautious approach to involvement in “offensive” action an example of weakness or wise restraint? 

To answer these and other questions Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by the Shadow Attorney General, Lord David Wolfson KC, who attacked the Prime Minister’s statement explaining why the UK did not participate in the US/Israel attack on Iran as “pusillanimous”, a “mark of shame” and an “amoral evasion dressed up as legal principle” (https://x.com/dxw_kc/status/2028087017892970696?s=43). 

Ken and Tim press David on his certainty that the US/Israel attack is fully justified as a matter of international law by reference to the principle of collective self-defence, the need to take proportionate action to avert continued attacks on UK bases and to prevent Iran from implementing its genocidal intentions against Israel. Given William Hague’s support for the Starmer approach and the disastrous history of the Iraq war, should all politicians and those who advise them not recognise the need for extreme caution before lining up behind Trump and Netanyahu? 

In a world dominated by Presidents Trump, Putin and Xi, each of whom regard international law as a meaningless irrelevance, Ken and Tim ask David whether he agrees with Marco Rubio’s statement that the rules-based international order has to be jettisoned as “a fantasy” and a “dangerous delusion” and what are the limits of his support for US/Israel actions in the Middle East. 

Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.      

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.     

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.      

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law.   

  
Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape.   

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy. 

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Is Misconduct in Public Office “one of the most notoriously difficult offences to define in England and Wales” as the Law Commission observed in its 2020 Report into the history of the offence? And what reforms are needed for it to satisfy 21st century requirements of legal certainty according to the Commission’s conclusions ?

To answer these and other questions, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by the former Criminal Law Commissioner and distinguished Professor of Criminal Law, Jeremy Horder, who, in addition to being the current editor of Ashworth’s Principles of Criminal Law, is also the author of the leading academic text on misconduct in public office (https://academic.oup.com/book/2405/chapter-abstract/142612568?redirectedFrom=fulltext)

The trio analyse the elements of the offence and its 18th century origins, debate the risk of the offence being seen to be a “political” weapon in a prosecutor’s armoury and reflect on how the charge has frequently been deployed in Hong Kong against holders of low and high office alike (see for example) https://legalref.judiciary.hk/lrs/common/ju/loadPdf.jsp?url=https://legalref.judiciary.hk/doc/judg/word/vetted/other/en/2023/CACC000168B_2023.docx&mobile=N

This episode was recorded on 24/2/26 before the announcement of the arrest of Peter Mandelson on suspicion of misconduct in public office. 

In anticipation of the announcement by Justice Secretary David Lammy of the government’s legislative plans to tackle the Crown Court backlog, Ken and Tim repeat their invitation to Courts Minister Sarah Sackman MP to join them on Double Jeopardy to debate the controversial plan to abolish the right to trial by jury for a vast array of crimes and for her to explain why she believes the reforms are justified as a matter of principle and can fairly be retrospective in effect.  

Finally, they reflect on the US Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc v Trump (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287_4gcj.pdf), the Tariffs case which appears to show that even for hitherto avowed Trump loyalist Judges there are Executive Orders they won’t countenance.

Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.    ​

What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.   ​

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.    ​

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law. ​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. ​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices