*/
Thousands of knives are confiscated every year, the head of the court service revealed, defending court security checks that barristers have branded intrusive.
Susan Acland-Hood, the Chief Executive of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) told delegates at the Bar Council’s annual conference in London that 8,000 knives had been confiscated in 2017 and that 5,000 had already been removed this year, though she accepted that they had not been removed from barristers.
She spoke the day after confirming via social media site Twitter that a security guard working at court in Bromley had been suspended by his employer after asking a female barrister to ‘spread your legs’ during a security check, after she refused to empty her bag.
The incident happened on the day that HMCTS announced that the trial of an ID scheme to enable lawyers to get into courts without undergoing security checks would be extended to five more court centres.
Since August, courts in Brighton, Maidstone, Southwark, Tameside and Wood Green have piloted the use of the app developed at the cost of £50,000 by the Bar Council, which allows barristers to enter using a digital ID card on their phone.
The scheme has been extended to courts in Chester, Nottingham, Portsmouth, St Albans and Swansea.
Thousands of knives are confiscated every year, the head of the court service revealed, defending court security checks that barristers have branded intrusive.
Susan Acland-Hood, the Chief Executive of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) told delegates at the Bar Council’s annual conference in London that 8,000 knives had been confiscated in 2017 and that 5,000 had already been removed this year, though she accepted that they had not been removed from barristers.
She spoke the day after confirming via social media site Twitter that a security guard working at court in Bromley had been suspended by his employer after asking a female barrister to ‘spread your legs’ during a security check, after she refused to empty her bag.
The incident happened on the day that HMCTS announced that the trial of an ID scheme to enable lawyers to get into courts without undergoing security checks would be extended to five more court centres.
Since August, courts in Brighton, Maidstone, Southwark, Tameside and Wood Green have piloted the use of the app developed at the cost of £50,000 by the Bar Council, which allows barristers to enter using a digital ID card on their phone.
The scheme has been extended to courts in Chester, Nottingham, Portsmouth, St Albans and Swansea.
Far-ranging month for the Chair of the Bar
Endometriosis Awareness North, a charity raising awareness of endometriosis and supporting those affected across the North of England, has received a £500 boost from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the most recent data on alcohol misuse in the UK, and the implications for alcohol testing in family proceedings
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how tailored financial planning can help barristers take control of their finances and plan with confidence
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
A £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs has been made to the leading UK charity tackling international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders
The case against judge-only justice – and why efficiency is not enough. By Professor Leslie Thomas KC
Heritage as an anchor and a compass, finding our common humanity and embracing the power of the outsider – Melina Antoniadis’s lessons learnt
Is the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office process fit for purpose? Women barristers’ experiences of bullying are not being reported or, if they are, they are not making it through the system, says Tana Adkin KC
Review by Daniel Barnett
Chair of the Bar reports back
