Test match cricket is England's equivalent of an Irish PRSTV vote count.

Jim Allister flags a key problem with non-jury trials and one which particularly afflicts the Special Criminal Court in the south.

Hard to read this and not feel a flare of righteous fury at the absolute cruelty that underpins the anti-trans movement. Just diabolical to force a tiny number of girls and young women out because you've let your twitter algorithm convince you they're dangerous. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

From 2021-23, I was part of an Independent Review Group examining aspects of Ireland's counter-terrorism legislation, including the non-jury Special Criminal Court. British based lawyers may find parts of our report dealing with non-jury trials interesting. www.oasareview.ie/wp-content/u...

If the abolition of trial by jury is an emergency measure to clear the backlog of cases then it ought to, by definition, be temporary. Otherwise, it's a clear rejection of the value of jury trials. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

From the country that brought you Brexit and Prime Minister Boris Johnson comes a new abomination in Public opinion...

Now available for pre-order; forthcoming April 2026. global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Labour's argument that it cannot get its workers rights bill provisions regarding day 1 rights through the House of Lords doesn't add up. It's explicitly mentioned in its 2024 manifesto so the Lords should be bound by the Salisbury Convention.

Me waiting for Irish journalists to label this government 'populist' for attacking judicial review...

Christmas at the BBC

incredible that VCs have collectively strategised on the threat of the far-right and democratic backsliding, and somehow the lesson from Columbia, Harvard, UCSF etc is that appeasement works

The worst thing about being a Spurs fan is that you don't get to laugh at what is objectively funny.

Great workshop on the Irish Political Constitution today, co-organised with @laurcah.bsky.social and @alangreene.bsky.social Some great papers, planning on a special issue of the Irish Jurist in 2026. Thanks to @maynoothlaw.bsky.social and the NUI for their support.

Part of my evidence put before the court today attests to the unique nature of the proscription based on some research I conducted, and part speaks to the chilling effect on academic teaching and research in the area www.bbc.com/news/article...

If the Palestine Action case does nothing else (and you'd need a lot of faith in the power of rights in security contexts to think it will) it spotlights once again the lamentable mess of Closed Material Procedures that the UK Govt has so far gotten away with: www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov...

The UK has gone from "We need to enshrine the right to jury trial in a British Bill of Rights" to "We need to abolish jury trial" in the space of about 3 years. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This stinks. At the very least, it appears to stink. And that's a problem for judicial independence and the rule of law. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Congratulations to Adrian Chiles for his new role as leader writer at the Washington Post.

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

What a wonderful President we have. #translivesmatter #transrightsarehumanrights

The OBR was created to box in Labour, enabling Cameron and Osborne to implement austerity with limited political opposition. It is a manifestation of the displacement of politics, reinforcing the idea that politics is technocratic and that ideology is irrelevant. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Somebody get Maggie Simpson oh the phone...

I find the comparisons between Brexit and Irish reunification inaccurate and unhelpful. 1/3 www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

It's only law if it comes from the sovereign-issued command backed by a sanction region of France. Otherwise, it's just sparkling rules-based international order.

Yeah, why reform capital gains tax when you can just destroy higher education instead?

Britpilled: the process of radicalsing an Irish person into a far-right reactionary through the consumption of British media and British social media.

So, below is EU President von der Leyen saying that the EU is "not fighting fossil fuels, only emissions." And here is the Saudi envoy to COP30 saying exactly the same thing. I'm telling you: climate politics are unified around the lie that we can keep fossil fuels & still deal w climate anyway.

One more week for this.

Any law and technology experts out there interested in a new role with great colleagues?

I'm not sure if this is the point of it but the Guardian budget game is incredibly simple: just reform capital gains tax.

I'm not sure if this is the point of it but the Guardian budget game is incredibly simple: just reform capital gains tax.

What. The. Actual. Fuck? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is the opening page of my book 'Emergency Powers in a Time of Pandemic' which I wrote during Covid. Of course the British Government acted too late.

Our podcast on the proscription of Palestine Action is now available in an audio only format that can be played via your usual podcast platform. Please do check it out by pasting the RSS feed below into your podcast platform. feeds.buzzsprout.com/2558297.rss

Not getting enough emails? Introducing "Outlook's End User Digest" where we send you an email about all the emails you've received! And if that's not enough, try out our "Outlook Reaction Daily Digest" where we curate all the reactions-- specifically designed not to be emails-- into an email!

There are times when I miss Irish Twitter; Troy Parrott's goal last week being one of them. But this reinforces my decision to delete my account. Thank you, Elon.

Unionists will always frame their political claims as 'concerns' or 'alarms' or 'fears'. They are political claims just like any other.

I recorded a podcast with @daniellalock.bsky.social and @colinmurray.bsky.social in which we discuss decision to ban #PalestineAction. There is some really excellent stuff in here-- Daniella and Colin are on top of their briefs. Please do check it out and share widely! youtu.be/tKN4Wk2SEyQ?...

Kirsty Hughes: Immigration and proposals to amend Article 8 ECHR ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/11/19/k...

As part of my Parliamentary Fellowship, I've co-authored with David Torrance a short research briefing on parliamentary sovereignty. I'm working on a (much) longer piece, which will be out in 2026! @policyleeds.bsky.social @lawatleeds.bsky.social commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Parliamentary sovereignty https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10377/

There is so much to unpack with the ban on Palestine Action, the role of ministerial discretion, the extension of counter terrorism powers, the intersection with public order measures, the rights implications, the court challenges, that this podcast is long, but could have been twice as long:

I recorded a podcast with @daniellalock.bsky.social and @colinmurray.bsky.social in which we discuss decision to ban #PalestineAction. There is some really excellent stuff in here-- Daniella and Colin are on top of their briefs. Please do check it out and share widely! youtu.be/tKN4Wk2SEyQ?...

"We've dismembered a journalist by mistake"

Civil legal aid review failed to see scheme as a tool for social change, @uniofgalwaylaw.bsky.social conference on ‘Public Interest Litigation & Access to Justice told. Moves to restrict access to judicial review also criticised. www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/20...

Immigration is the least of Durham's problems. He's a disgrace.

Me travelling back in time to 2019 to stop myself voting for Shabana Mahmood