Quentin Hunt, barrister at 2 Bedford Row and a member of the Attorney General's 'A List' of approved advocates for health and safety and regulatory work, explains what changes will mean in practice.

Changing a Guilty plea is not an easy exercise. The Court of Appeal has stated on a number of occasions that ‘the cases must be comparatively rare where it would be proper to allow a change of plea’. This case study discusses the issues.

In this second article, we examine the tests to be applied by the police in more detail. Read further to find out more..

For many, a shotgun licence is very important to both their livelihood and their leisure. However, given the fact that the decision in respect of shotgun and firearms licences rests entirely in hands of the various chief constables around the country, read further to find out more..

According to Home Office Statistics the offence of Criminal Damage is one of the top ten most prosecuted crimes in the United Kingdom. It is also one of the most frequently abused by way of prosecutions being brought against individuals in circumstances where no offence has been committed. Read further to find out more..

In many driving cases people commit offences in circumstances that are really not their fault. This stems from the fact that the vast majority of driving offences are what lawyers call ‘strict liability’ offences. This means that you are guilty whether or not you actually meant to commit the offence. Read further to find out more..

Local authorities are becoming increasingly trigger-happy in respect of landlord and tenant prosecutions. Such prosecutions can occur when there is a dispute with a tenant over the circumstances of their leaving a property. Often such disputes can be the word of one party against the word of another. As such it is essential that a landlord or other party accused of such an offence gain specialist legal advice if being either investigated or prosecuted. Read further to find out more..

Blackmail is an offence under section 21 Theft Act 1968. It is a serious offence and is tried only in the Crown Court before a judge and a jury. The maximum penalty on conviction is 14 years’ imprisonment. Read further to find out more..