Double Jeopardy - UK Law and Politics

When Parliament suspended the death penalty for murder in 1965, it replaced it with the mandatory life sentence. Sixty years on, the nature and administration of the life sentence have changed almost beyond recognition. In this episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by legendary human rights and public law barrister Edward Fitzgerald KC to trace how “life” in England and Wales went from meaning a decade or so behind bars to meaning, for a small but growing group of prisoners, death in custody.

With expert legal commentary on the development of the domestic and Strasbourg case law, as well as the statutory provisions affecting the life sentence, Ken, Tim and Edward begin with the “abolition bargain” struck in securing the passage of the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965. Abolition was initially a five-year experiment, made permanent in 1969. The trio discuss how initially release decisions were left largely to the Executive, and why “life” in practice usually meant release after 10 to 15 years.

They reflect on how from the 1980s ministers began imposing whole life tariffs on prisoners such as Myra Hindley without disclosing what was being done behind closed doors and how the inherent unfairness of the administration of the life sentence led to a sequence of judicial decisions pioneered by Edward which culminated in the removal altogether of the Home Secretary’s role in tariff fixing as well as the decision to release all lifers. Edward and Tim discuss their involvement in high profile prison cases, from Myra Hindley’s ultimately unsuccessful attempt in the domestic courts to challenge her whole life tariff to their success before the European Court of Human Rights in Stafford v UK on the principle that politicians cannot determine the sentencing and release of lifers.

Ken then explains how the political reaction to the judicialisation of the life sentence in the form of David Blunkett’s Criminal Justice Act 2003 resulted in a massive increase in the length of time that life sentence prisoners serve by way of punishment, creating statutory starting points for murder with the whole life order at the top, and the consequent disastrous knock-on effect on sentences across the board.

Over the past 25 years the number serving whole life orders has grown from 23 prisoners in 2000 to 75 in 2026. Meanwhile, 7,610 people were serving a life sentence in 2026, most with minimum terms of between 10 and 20 years. Is a sentence with no realistic prospect of release a humane alternative to execution or a slower version of it? Does the growth in whole life orders reflect more serious offending or a more punitive political culture? And where should the age line sit?

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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 i Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

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

Ten months into Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over an edit to a Panorama documentary aired days before the 2024 Presidential election, a federal Magistrate in Miami has issued a strict deadline, ordering Trump to sit for a deposition under oath by 11th December or risk having his claim struck out. The hour long documentary (“Trump: A Second Chance?”) spliced quotes from Trump’s speech, omitted context and gave a misleading timeline but plainly caused no damage to Trump’s election campaign or added further harm to his reputation as a shyster, fraudster, sexual predator, pathological liar and anti-democratic megalomaniac. While the BBC has admitted the edit was an "error of judgment" and issued an apology, they deny legal liability for defamation.

In this week’s episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC provide expert legal commentary and reflect on Trump’s recent, largely successful, history of baseless litigation designed to intimidate US media organisations and praise the BBC’s legal strategy which threatens to expose Trump as the classic bully he is and who, in the words of heroic Magistrate Enjolique Lett, seeks to use the legal system as both a sword and shield by issuing a claim and then running away from the consequences by endlessly postponing deposition dates when he would have to justify his claim to have suffered harm worth $10 billion.

Is Trump’s suit doomed to collapse in humiliation, as many informed US observers believe? Is he really willing to expose himself to many hours of videoed cross examination by top US media lawyer, Chuck Tobin, under oath about the US Capitol insurrection on 6th January 2021 ? And is he willing to risk a similar ordeal for Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who it is known from the 6th January Committee’s findings, privately accepted that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election?

Ken and Tim go on to discuss the rumours circulating amongst US legal observers that Supreme Court Justice Alito may resign if the mid-Terms result in a Democratic majority in the Senate so that Trump can secure confirmation for a new, youthful MAGA supporting Justice to replace Alito before a January 2027 power shift.

And they respond to listeners’ questions about bias in covering the Conversion Practices Bill and praise the blogpost published last week by retired Recorder of Westminster HHJ Rivlin KC which sets out a detailed critique of the Government’s remaining plans to undermine the right to jury trial - https://redlionchambers.substack.com/p/judge-alone-trials-the-latest-proposals

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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 i Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

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

On Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss the announcement on Friday 16th October that the Government had reached an out-of-court settlement with Sir Oliver (Olly) Robbins following his summary dismissal last April by former PM Keir Starmer as the permanent under secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Head of the Diplomatic Service and the FCDO’s statutory Accounting Officer. According to The Guardian, the settlement included a six-figure sum by way of damages for Robbins’s unlawful dismissal.

Sir Olly had taken the highly unusual step of initiating a judicial review claim in July, backed by the FDA Union, arguing that Starmer’s decision to sack him in the context of the furious public row over the security vetting linked to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK Ambassador to the USA was beyond the PM’s powers (ultra vires), represented a fundamental breach of due process principles and was irrational based, as it was, on a grievous misunderstanding of national security vetting procedures.

With access to the Claim Form issued by Sir Olly, the hosts provide expert legal commentary on the legal basis for the judicial review and summarise the gripping minute-by-minute account of the key events of the week commencing 13th April 2026 which culminated in Starmer abruptly hanging up the phone in a call to Robbins on 16th April having informed him that he felt misled by Robbins, that Robbins should have told him that Mandelson had “failed” his security vetting and that he no longer had confidence in Robbins.

Was this, as Robbins alleged, an example of the public sacrifice of a public servant’s office and employment for political reasons by a panicked, desperate Prime Minister who acted without a proper understanding of UK law and the facts? Did Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo do enough to protect a senior civil servant, with three decades of distinguished public service, from the blatantly unlawful actions of a Prime Minister who had no power to act in the way he did? And why did the Government settle with Sir Olly rather than maintain its “defence” that the judicial review claim was misconceived because the dismissal decision lacked a public law element and Sir Olly had an alternative private law remedy in breach of contract?

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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 i Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

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

Last week’s ruling quashing the search warrants executed on 19th February 2026 at the homes of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at Sandringham and Royal Lodge in the context of the investigation into alleged offences of misconduct in public office was a major embarrassment for Thames Valley Police. The police accepted that the warrants had been unlawfully issued but who was to blame for the fact that the wrong section of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 was relied on? Thames Valley police claim that “the court was presented with all the necessary information and paperwork”, giving the impression that the error lay with the Judge who issued the warrants at the Old Bailey but the public reasons given by Mr Justice Hilliard (who was not the issuing Judge) did not seek to allocate blame.  And despite the admitted illegality, does the law permit the police to retain the seized material if it is relevant to their continuing investigation?

To discuss this sorry saga, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined on Double Jeopardy for expert legal commentary by regular guest, former BBC home affairs journalist and crime/policing expert, Danny Shaw.

The trio go on to discuss what, if any, progress is being made to advance Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s bold plans for radical reform of policing as announced last January.  With a review by former Met Police Commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe due to be published in the next few weeks, is there really a prospect of cutting the current model of 43 separate police forces in England and Wales down to 12-15 mega-force areas?  And what about the creation of an FBI-style nationwide police force combining the National Crime Agency, Counter-Terrorism policing and regional organised crime squads under the leadership of a single national Police Commissioner?

Ken and Tim then press Danny (an adviser to the then Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in the lead up to the 2024 election) on how Labour’s crime and policing manifesto commitments are shaping up as we approach the halfway stage of the current term of office.

Finally, as lifelong Arsenal supporters, Ken, Tim and Danny reflect on the damage done to the reputation of the Premier League by the findings of guilt against Manchester City on 115 charges with the legal battle destined to last for many more months, if not years.

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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 i Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

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

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--

Covering the critical intersections of

What happens when politics and law

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken

​

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of

​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of

​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking

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

At a High Court hearing on 18th September before the Lady Chief Justice, the President of the King's Bench Division and Lord Justice Chamberlain, the Security Service (MI5) accepted that it gave evidence based on lies to three courts and that senior MI5 officers were repeatedly dishonest while seeking to defend a violent neo-Nazi agent identified as Agent X whose alleged abuse of two women was uncovered by the BBC.

Counsel for MI5 told the Court that "MI5 accepts without reservation" the findings of a damning report prepared by Deputy Investigatory Powers Commissioner Sir John Goldring (https://ipco-wpmedia-prod-s3.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/Agent-X-Report.pdf) which concluded that MI5 gave evidence based on "lies" about having kept to its core secrecy policy applicable to Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) – known as 'neither confirm nor deny' (NCND) – in relation to the agent status of the neo-Nazi informant.

Following MI5's admission in this high profile legal case, lawyers for the BBC and one of Agent X's victims argued that contempt of court proceedings should be brought against two MI5 officers as well as MI5 itself in light of Sir John's clear findings and the obvious public interest in marking the gravity of the conduct. At the conclusion of the hearing the Lady Chief Justice said it had been "a serious day addressing serious matters" and judgment is pending on what action the High Court will take.

On Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss the background to this extraordinary case and praise Sir John's Report. Their expert legal commentary unpacks how MI5 reacted when faced with a threat to expose one of their agents and the often close relationship between MI5 and the media. The Report also provides legal system insights into the interactions between MI5 agents, lawyers, Special Advocates and the Court in the context of closed hearings under the Justice and Security Act 2013.

Ken and Tim go on to discuss current affairs, tackling the bizarre justification given by Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat for his Damascene conversion to supporting the UK's withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights. The debate around this cornerstone of human rights law raises a pointed question: is this a classic example of political ambition triumphing over principle? Finally, the duo reflect on the extreme responses from various listeners to last week's episode on the Thirlwall Report and its implications for Lucy Letby's attempts to overturn her convictions.

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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 i Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

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

The

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Ken

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--

Covering the critical intersections of

What happens when politics and law

Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken

​

Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of

​

Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of

​

If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking

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

In the wake of the Metropolitan Police’s announcement that it’s Special Enquiry Team has expanded its criminal investigation into donations made to Reform UK by Fiona Cottrell, the mother of “Posh” George, to include suspected breaches of foreign funding laws based on the Verbatim/C4 undercover sting operation, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC focus on the rise and fall of Dr James Orr, the former Reform UK Head of Policy - or “contractor” as he was contemptuously described by Nigel Farage soon after Orr was indefinitely suspended from the Party.  Just how clever is the Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion in the Cambridge Faculty of Divinity and the man known as “Farage’s Brain”?  And is he as weird as High Anglican Tory AN Wilson has claimed?

Ken and Tim then discuss the potential for the £72m donations to Reform UK made by Thailand based Christopher Harborne and crypto currency businessman Ben Delo to be reversed when the retrospective provisions of the Representation of the People Bill 2026 come into force.  Can we anticipate the delicious prospect of Reform relying on the European Convention on Human Rights to argue that UK law is incompatible with the right to peaceful enjoyment of property?

The duo turn next to debate the defeat of the second attempt to legislate for some form of Assisted Dying legislation in the UK and reflect on the shameful, anti-democratic, filibustering tactics deployed by 7 Peers which meant that the June 2025 House of Commons’ vote in favour of the Leadbeater Bill was frustrated.

They go on to express astonishment and concern at the apparently never ending Undercover Policing Inquiry which is due to lose its second Inquiry Chair, Sir John Mitting, next year some 12 years after it began. After costing £137m, is it time to pull the plug?

And finally Ken and Tim reflect on the new legal risk guidance issued by Attorney General Ellie Reeves KC which reverses the previous guidance issued by Lord Hermer KC (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-attorney-generals-guidance-on-legal-risk--2). Does it undermine the rule of law and what political signal does it send?

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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 i Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

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

Is the Verbatim Investigations/C4 film which shows senior (now ex) Reform UK officials apparently engaged in procuring illegal foreign donations to the Party a “hoax”, as Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick have claimed, or a brilliant example of investigative journalism in the public interest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXut3s90rUI)? And did the undercover operation breach journalistic ethics by crossing the line into “entrapment”, or did the evidence captured on film simply reveal the willingness of Reform’s former Head of Policy, James Orr, and senior aide to Farage, Dan Jukes, to operate an “off the books” illegal donation scheme? What specific criminal offences under UK law are apparent from the broadcast footage and what defences might be run in he event of criminal charges? And is major Reform UK donor Aaron Banks right to say that the public “don’t give a rat’s arse” about the behaviour of Orr, Jukes and Farage as revealed by Verbatim’s investigation?

To debate the fascinating issues generated by the C4/Verbatim sting operation on Double Jeopardy, Tim Owen KC is joined by electoral and media law expert Gavin Millar KC who acted as legal advisor to Verbatim during the year-long undercover operation. In his first public interview since the documentary was published, Gavin explains the ethical principles which guide this kind of investigation, the criminal offences set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 and the difference between the role of a journalist as opposed to that of the police when investigating potential wrongdoing by politicians. The duo discuss the weaknesses in current electoral law and the limited powers of the Electoral Commission to tackle dodgy financial dealings by political parties.

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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 i Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

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

The failure of successive Conservative governments to build sufficient prison capacity to accommodate the growing prison population handed Labour a criminal justice crisis which demanded urgent action. In enacting the Sentencing Act in January 2026, Parliament approved the "earned progression" model recommended by the Gauke Sentencing Review which held out some hope of long term relief from the perma-crisis afflicting our penal system. But in the face of sustained media pressure concerning the release of the killers of PC Harper, Andy Burnham's first major policy decision as PM has been to water down the release scheme in a way guaranteed to sustain the very crisis which the 2026 Act was crafted to resolve (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sentencing-act-offence-exclusions).

For expert legal commentary on the depressing statement delivered to Parliament on 1st September by Labour's third Lord Chancellor in 2 years and its implications for UK law and current political events, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined on Double Jeopardy by the Institute for Government's Associate Director, Cassia Rowland. Why did former Justice Secretary, David Lammy, not prepare the public for the coming into force of the Sentencing Act's release provisions with the result that the summer media frenzy over the release of PC Harper's killers caused Burnham to abandon key features of the early release scheme? What hope is there for achieving a long term reduction in our use of imprisonment if politicians simply collapse in the face of media stories linked to high-profile legal cases?

Ken and Tim also discuss the $17 billion settlement agreed on 26th August between Meta and US States in the federal child safety lawsuit alleging that Meta designed its apps (Facebook and Instagram) to be addictive to children and knew about the risks those platforms posed but hid that information from the public. Finally they discuss the alarming implications of the US government's decision to designate Palestine Action as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organisation in terms of its impact on freedom of expression and on any persons convicted in the future of a Terrorism Act offence related to supporting PA.

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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 i Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy.

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