Double Jeopardy - UK Law and Politics

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

The
Conversion Practices Bill was formally announced in the King's Speech in July
and confirmed Labour's Manifesto commitment to introduce into UK
law a full, trans-inclusive ban on abusive "conversion
practices" intended to change or suppress someone's sexual orientation as
well as their transgender identity. The short, six-clause Bill was published in
draft form on 25th June and is due to commence pre-legislative scrutiny later
this month by a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament.



The Bill
creates new criminal offences based on three limbs: first, conduct intended to
change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity; secondly, conduct that
is abusive in line with other criminal law; and
thirdly, conduct that causes serious harm, alarm or distress that has a
substantial effect on the victim's day-to-day activities. To close what the
Minister for Equalities Olivia Bailey said might be a loophole that pushes
abuse abroad, the draft Bill also includes an offence of encouraging or assisting
an abusive conversion practice outside England and Wales. In addition, the Bill
creates a new "conversion practice protection order" as a civil
injunctive measure designed to "support victims at risk of abuse".



To discuss
the nature and implications of the Bill, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim
Owen KC are joined in the Double Jeopardy studio by
previous guest Sarah Vine KC. Are there really gaps in the criminal law that
necessitate the creation of new offences in this complex area of human
behaviour? Are clinical psychologists and psychotherapists right to argue that
poorly defined terms in the Bill create widespread fear and uncertainty that
standard, evidence-based exploratory therapy (which involves challenging a client's
thoughts or exploring complex underlying issues regarding sex, gender or
sexuality) could be misconstrued or legally targeted as "conversion
practice"? And what does the experience of other countries tell us about
the impact of this kind of legislation?



Ken and
Tim finish by discussing the partial U-turn announced by Justice Secretary Alex
Norris on the Government's plan to remove the right to jury trial in a wide
range of cases. But by keeping the commitment to end a defendant's right to
elect jury trial for offences triable in both the magistrates' court and the
Crown Court, and doubling the sentencing powers of magistrates, will the
backlog simply be transferred to an already clogged criminal
justice system in the magistrates' courts?



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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

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
publication of Lady Justice Thirlwall’s Report of the Public Inquiry
into the Events at the Countess of Chester Hospital 2015-2018 (https://thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/the-report/#Summary-report-on-report-page) has reignited the sharply
divided – and almost entirely uninformed - public debate about the safety of
Lucy Letby’s convictions on 7 counts of murdering, and 8 counts of attempting
to murder, new born babies in the hospital’s neo-natal unit between June 2015
and June 2016.



Without
expressing any view on whether Letby was rightly convicted after a fair trial
or is the victim of the greatest miscarriage of justice in English legal
history, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss the core findings of the
Thirlwall Report revealing, as it does, a catastrophic breakdown in management,
governance and safeguarding across the hospital.



They
ask whether the Report vindicates the decision to continue the Inquiry
announced in September 2023 after it emerged in February 2025 that a 14 strong
panel of international medical experts had unanimously concluded that none of
the deaths or alleged attempted murders was the result of homicidal action by
Lucy Letby or anyone else. And they identify the significant
benefits of Thirlwall’s practical recommendations which apply regardless of
whether Letby’s convictions are ultimately shown to be unsafe.



Ken
and Tim also consider the bizarre announcement by two of Letby’s
“fresh” expert witnesses, British chemical engineer Helen Shannon and New
Zealand Professor of Bioengineering Geoff Chase, that they have decided
publicly to disassociate themselves from Lucy Letby’s legal team because of
what they say are grave concerns about the arguments being advanced by other
experts despite remaining of the view, as expressed in their own joint 100 page
report, that neither of the convictions of Letby for the attempted murders of
Babies F and L by insulin poisoning is safe. They also assess the
complex task that confronts the Criminal Cases Review Commission in determining
whether to refer Lucy Letby’s case back to the Court of Appeal given the sheer
volume of material that falls for consideration.



The
duo conclude by anticipating the potential changes to the jury reform proposals
in the Courts and Tribunals Bill when it returns to the House of Commons on 13th October
and they discuss the Government’s plan further to limit the
possibility of judicial review challenges to key infrastructure
projects."



--



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