Episodi

  • Listeners’ Mailbag: Tariffs, Hunger Strikes and Undermining the Parole Board

    Listeners’ Mailbag: Tariffs, Hunger Strikes and Undermining the Parole Board
    Jan 21 2026
    In this week’s episode Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss a wide range of issues affecting UK law and politics and answer some listeners’ questions. Does Elon Musk’s climbdown over Grok’s image generator represent a victory for online safety campaigners and have Ken and Tim been unfair about Ofcom’s record of enforcing the Online Safety Act ? Will the US Supreme Court’s imminent ruling in Learning Resources v Trump declare Trump’s unilateral imposition of tariffs without Congressional approval to be unlawful and what would that mean for Trump’s latest threats to impose tariffs on any NATO country opposing his demand to take over Greenland? And is being turned down for the Nobel Peace Prize a good reason to invade a sovereign State ? The decision of 6 Palestine Action activists to end their hunger strike was greeted with relief by the Ministry of Justice but what were the activists demanding and what is the law concerning the duty of the Prison Service in response to hunger strikes? Ken and Tim explain the fundamental shift in the law from mandatory force feeding of the Suffragettes, as established in the 1909 judgment in Leigh v Gladstone, to the turning point in the ‘70s and 80s involving IRA hunger strikers. What do recent amendments to the Parole Board’s powers and the Justice Secretary’s new power to direct the Parole Board to refer a release decision in “top-tier” cases to the High Court say about Labour’s approach to sentencing, fairness and respect for judicial independence? See this for a background to the changes - https://www.no5.com/2025/12/the-parole-board-new-powers-and-new-challenges/ Finally, Ken and Tim reflect on the defection of Robert Jenrick to Reform, the record of his replacement as Shadow Justice Secretary, Nick Timothy MP, and the mysterious decision by SFO Director, Nick Ephgrave, to announce his early retirement after only 2 and half years in the job. -- overing 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    44 min
  • Venezuela, Greenland and The Donroe Doctrine: Power without Law

    Venezuela, Greenland and The Donroe Doctrine: Power without Law
    Jan 14 2026
    Former National Security Advisor John Bolton says of President Trump that “the part he likes about the phrase ‘Donroe Doctrine” is the word ‘Don’ - he doesn’t do doctrine” but the abduction of the sitting Venezuelan President Maduro and repeated explicit threats to acquire Greenland, by force if necessary, from Trump, Vance and the increasingly unhinged US Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller would appear to signal the end of any hope for the continuation of a rules-based global order. To discuss the implications for public international law of Trump’s open contempt for the idea that he should be constrained by anything other than his own personal “morality”, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by their Matrix chambers colleague and Professor of Public International Law at the London School of Economics, Devika Hovell. What was the international law status of the Maduro government before 3rd January 2026 and to what extent does the US law enforcement justification for his capture hold water in international law terms? And given the raw reality of US power, does it really matter in practice? To what extent does the “Donroe Doctrine” have any legal coherence and in what way is it different from the 19th century Monroe Doctrine to which it claims an historic link? What is the status of Greenland in international law and absent the consent of Denmark or the people of Greenland could the USA lawfully “buy” Greenland from the Greenlanders? Finally, given the reality that the USA, China and Russia have no respect for international law, is Attorney General Lord Hermer KC right to acknowledge that statecraft/diplomacy is the only way to manage a world dominated by Trump and raw US power? -- 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
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    54 min
  • UK Law and Politics 2025-2026: What’s Happened and What’s Coming Next

    UK Law and Politics 2025-2026: What’s Happened and What’s Coming Next
    Jan 7 2026
    To start the New Year, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined once again by the UK’s leading legal journalist and author of the daily blog, A Lawyer Writes, Joshua Rozenberg, to review some key issues in UK law and politics during 2025 and to look forward to likely developments in 2026. Against the background of a polarised, often ill-informed, debate around migration, asylum and Article 8 of the ECHR, where does the embarrassing case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah fit in this confused, fevered political landscape? 2025 saw persistent populist attacks on the judiciary, with Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick the most persistent offender, and the trio debate whether judicial independence is under greater threat now than ever before. With every corner of our criminal justice system in a state of apparently permanent decline, what do the cases of Andrew Malkinson, Tom Hayes, Carlo Palombo and Lucy Letby tell us about the ability of the system to prevent and ultimately reverse miscarriages of justice? Looking forward to 2026, Ken, Tim and Joshua cover the prospects for effective regulation of the internet and the potential for conflict between the EU approach and that of the Trump regime. They also debate the ability of the Government to secure Parliamentary approval for the plan radically to limit the right to jury trial and the chaotic way in which the proposals were leaked. Finally, they consider whether the Sentencing Bill, once in force, can really be the magic bullet that will finally achieve the goal of reducing our dependence on imprisonment as the only acceptable form of punishment and lead to a lasting reduction in the prison population. For listeners to the special episode on the Pitcairn Island sexual abuse case interested in reading the Privy Council judgment, click here - https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/d171ca10-d5ed-4106-a229-e9993bd9867a/content -- 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
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    1 ora e 1 min
  • Living in the Southern Ocean: Part 2- Empire, Neglect and the Dilemma of the Pitcairn Sex Trials

    Living in the Southern Ocean: Part 2- Empire, Neglect and the Dilemma of the Pitcairn Sex Trials
    Jan 1 2026
    In Part 2 of their discussion with retired New Zealand High Court Judge and former Chief Crown Prosecutor for Auckland, Simon Moore KC, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss the extraordinary Pitcairn Island sexual abuse trials which took place between 2004-2006 and in which Simon headed the prosecution team. What finally triggered the investigation into what was eventually revealed to be institutionalised, decades long gross sexual abuse of children and young women on this tiny, remote volcanic island in the middle of the South Pacific populated by the descendants of the 1789 mutiny on HMS Bounty ? As a British Overseas Territory, why was a New Zealand prosecutor in charge of the cases and what were the practical challenges involved in seeking to bring justice to a community of some 50 people who had lived for centuries with no concept of policing or the reality of restraint via the criminal law? -- 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
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    40 min
  • Living in the Southern Ocean: Part 1- Blazing a Trail for Criminal Justice Reform

    Living in the Southern Ocean: Part 1- Blazing a Trail for Criminal Justice Reform
    Dec 27 2025
    In Part 1 of a special holiday release of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by the former New Zealand High Court Judge and Chief Crown Prosecutor for Auckland, Simon Moore KC. At a time when comparisons are often made between the Leveson/Lammy proposals and the major reforms to New Zealand criminal justice system in 2011 flowing from its Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and the Victims of Crime Reform Act 2011, Simon gives his thoughts on the UK government’s proposed changes to the right to trial by jury and questions whether they will be effective in achieving the radical reduction in the Crown Court 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
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    32 min
  • Mr Lammy Goes to Strasbourg- and our Christmas Listeners’ Postbag on Jury Reforms

    Mr Lammy Goes to Strasbourg- and our Christmas Listeners’ Postbag on Jury Reforms
    Dec 17 2025
    As the UK joins 26 other Council of Europe States in calling for a rebalancing of the European Convention on Human Rights as between the individual rights of irregular migrants and the public interest in defending freedom and security, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss the political imperatives which drove Justice Secretary David Lammy and Attorney General Lord Hermer to attend a potentially highly significant meeting in Strasbourg designed to head off the rise of populist, anti-ECHR parties across Europe. Click this link to read the statement issued by the 27 States following the Strasbourg meeting - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-to-the-conference-of-ministers-of-justice-of-the-council-of-europe Ken and Tim then turn to answering listeners' questions - what do the statistics concerning the number of defeats for the UK in the European Court of Human Rights over the past 45 years really tell us? Is it really the case that trial by Judge alone is less fair than trial by jury? If trial by magistrates in the Youth Court is largely the case for children why not for adults? Should defendants be able to elect judge only trial in the Crown Court in all cases? And what is the evidence that an increase in magistrates’ sentencing powers leads to a rise in the prison population? Finally, the duo anticipate the special episodes of Double Jeopardy to be released over the holiday period in which their guest is the former New Zealand High Court Judge and Chief Prosecutor for Auckland, Simon Moore KC. At a time when comparisons are often made with the New Zealand criminal justice system’s experience in 2011 of reforming the right to trial by jury, Simon gives his thoughts on the Lammy/Leveson proposals, explains current issues in the NZ criminal justice system and also discusses his extraordinary role as the chief prosecutor in the Pitcairn Island sexual abuse trials between 2002-2004. -- 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
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    39 min
  • Swapping Judges For Juries: Will This Really Be Swifter And Fairer?

    Swapping Judges For Juries: Will This Really Be Swifter And Fairer?
    Dec 12 2025
    Are the Government’s proposals radically to reduce a citizen’s right to trial by jury a “swift and fair plan to get justice for victims”, as the MoJ press release declared on 2nd December, or a poorly conceived, confused and untested set of measures which will have no real impact on the Crown Court backlog or the general, long term crisis that afflicts our once admired criminal justice system? What is the explanation for the significant difference between the leaked Lammy memorandum - which revealed a plan to eliminate trial by jury in all cases apart from murder, manslaughter, rape, or other offences meeting a public-interest threshold - and the formal announcement a week later?Cock-up or a deliberate plan designed to smooth the way for the actual proposals? And will Labour backbenchers rebel in sufficient numbers to defeat the reform plans. To answer these and other questions generated by the furore over the Lammy proposals, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by the current and past Chairs of the Criminal Bar Association, Riel Karmy-Jones KC and Chris Henley KC. Riel and Chris attack the proposals on the basis that neither the Leveson Report nor the Ministry of Justice have conducted any modelling capable of showing that slashing the right to jury trial will succeed in clearing the backlog, given the multiple other causes of delays in the criminal justice system, both at the pre-charge and post-charge phases. They also address the fact that jury trial is not in truth a “constitutional” right or one guaranteed by the ECHR and they challenge comparisons with Canada and New Zealand which have judge alone trials in serious cases without it being suggested that fair trials are incapable of being delivered. For a further piece by retired Judge Geoffrey Rivlin KC attacking the Lammy and Leveson proposals see this - https://redlionchambers.substack.com/p/juries-and-judges-the-right-to-choose?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=posts-open-in-app&utm_medium=email&r=4n6tab&triedRedirect=true -- 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
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    43 min
  • Are the Courts Flinching on Article 8? And Who’s Trying to Kill the Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Lords?

    Are the Courts Flinching on Article 8? And Who’s Trying to Kill the Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Lords?
    Dec 3 2025
    Does the Judgment of the Court of Appeal in the Palestinian Family case of IA & others v. Home Secretary - https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IA.MediaSummary.Final_.pdf - indicate that the Judges are submitting to the political pressure to weaken the protection that Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights provides for the concept of “family life”? In asserting that the Home Secretary’s policy is a matter for her and for the UK Government; that this was a question of respect for the UK’s law and democratic process; and that the courts must attach considerable weight to the Home Secretary’s immigration policies at a general level, was the Court of Appeal sending a message to immigration and asylum judges that they must adopt a fundamentally different approach when conducting the proportionality balance under Article 8 (2) of the ECHR? Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC debate the political implications of the Court of Appeal’s ruling and question whether it will do anything to persuade Jenrick, Farage and their followers that the ECHR is not the cause of the UK’s problem of illegal migration. Ken and Tim then move on to discuss the continuing campaign by a small number of Peers to secure the assisted, filibustered death of Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill. Is the - apparently co-ordinated - plan to table some 587 amendments to the Bill as approved by the House of Commons a democratic outrage? Or does the fact that it’s a Private Members’ Bill, to which the Salisbury Convention does not apply, mean that “Kill The Bill” is a legitimate expression of democratic scrutiny of flawed legislation? Finally, the duo respond to audience questions, including the thorny issue of whether Irish novelist Sally Rooney’s publishers should withhold her royalties for fear of committing a terrorist financing offence in the wake of her public announcement that she intends to use future royalties from her work to donate to Palestine Action. -- 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
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    34 min