UK Finance drops £50 fee for Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (30 January 2026) UK Finance has dropped plans to charge conveyancers an annual fee to access lender instructions after the banking trade association’s decision sparked widespread outrage. Conveyancers currently access – for free and without registering – the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook on the trade body’s website. The handbook provides standard […]
Reminder to carry a British passport or Certificate of Entitlement for international travel
(eVisa Direct Messaging) >> (21 January 2026) As part of our ongoing support for the move to a digital immigration system, we’d like to remind everyone that to enter the UK as a British citizen, you must hold, and travel with, one of the following valid documents: • A valid British citizen passport, or • […]
Thousands more cases to be piled onto creaking ET system
By John Hyde >> (9 January 2026) Employment law reforms will pile thousands of extra cases onto an already stretched tribunal system, government analysis has revealed. The Employment Rights Act, which received royal assent last month, reduces the qualifying period of employment for eligibility to make an unfair dismissal claim from two years to six months. The […]
Wishing you all a joyful festive season and a Happy New Year from Team MT UK.
Two magistrates sanctioned over separate car park incidents
By Bianca Castro >> (15 August 2025) Two magistrates have been sanctioned for misconduct over separate car park issues – one of which led to an altercation and the other to a court session being interrupted. Magistrate Shirley Holmes, who said she was ‘provoked’ during an argument in a supermarket car park, was issued with a formal warning […]
Reading Crown Court tests fast-track case pilot
By Charlie Moloney >> (1 August 2025) A fast-track trial pilot is under way at the Crown court in Reading to try and expedite cases which are most likely to crack, after the backlog of cases reached a 25-year high last month. The Gazette understands the initiative will see certain short bail cases, for which evidence […]
London Legal Walk 2025
Press Release – London, 30 June 2025 Team MT UK proudly took part in the 2025 London Legal Walk on 17 June 2025, joining over 19,000 fellow walkers in support of free access to justice. This year’s event marked the 21st anniversary of the Walk and was once again organised by the London Legal Support […]
Court slams expert witness for mixing up twins in abuse case
By John Hyde >> (8 April 2025) A judge has underlined the critical importance of reliable expert evidence, after a doctor in a care order case described her own evidence as ‘appalling’. The court in LB Croydon v D (Critical Scrutiny of the Paediatric Overview) heard that the local authority sought a care order for three children, […]
Crown Court backlog reaches record high
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (27 March 2025) New official figures show that the Crown court backlog has once again risen to a record high – and, the government has admitted, could reach 100,000 by 2029 if it keeps climbing at the current rate. Criminal courts data published today shows that the Crown court open caseload […]
Family court transparency push goes national
By Bianca Castro >> (10 January 2025) Journalists and legal bloggers will be able to report on cases in any family court in England and Wales following a decision by the Family Procedure Rule Committee announced this week. Changes to the procedure rules and new practice directions will mean journalists will be able to report on […]
