The prosecution: Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC The defendant: British politics, the legal system and the media. The charges: You’ll have to listen to find out. With decades of experience behind them, Ken and Tim bring you an insider’s analysis of the latest legal battles, high-profile cases, and emerging political issues happening across Britain. This is ‘Double Jeopardy’, The Law and Politics Podcast.
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Labour’s Criminal Justice: Performance or Reality?
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30:12Is tougher legislation the answer to crime, or is it just more political posturing? The Government’s monster new Crime and Policing Bill promises to crack down on antisocial behaviour, knife crime, and retail theft. But is any of this really necessary, or is it just another example of performative lawmaking? This episode unpacks the bill’s sweeping…
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Why is UK penal policy failing so badly? This week, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by former Secretary of State for Justice David Gauke, who has just published Part 1 of his Independent Review into Sentencing. In the face of falling crime, why do we have the highest prison population in Western Europe, and why can’t we reduce our expen…
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Immigration, Asylum and Liberal Democracy
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25:34A high-profile immigration case takes centre stage at Prime Minister’s Questions, sparking debate over refugee law and the reality of power politics in an age of populism. In this episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC dissect Kemi Badenoch’s focus on a controversial ruling involving a Palestinian family. They go on to conside…
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Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC explore the latest developments in the case of Lucy Letby, as her new barrister holds a second press conference revealing the conclusion of 14 experts that every baby died either as a result of natural causes or because of medical neglect. Do these new medical opinions ‘demolish’ the evidence of the prosecution expe…
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The Stolen Honour of Andrew Malkinson
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36:36Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by guest Chris Henley KC, to explore the terrible miscarriage of justice which led to Andrew Malkinson spending 17 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. Looking at Chris’s report into the scandal, they examine the failures of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and its atrocious mishandling of cr…
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Southport, Terrorism and Whole Life Tariffs
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28:18Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC review the Southport murder trial, following Axel Rudakubana's sentencing to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of three girls in Southport in July 2024. The discussion examines the implications of recent legislative changes surrounding whole life orders for young people, the public's …
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In this episode, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC examine the powerful arguments for using telephone intercept evidence in UK criminal trials. Why are the security services so opposed to a reform that would obviously give a major boost to convicting terrorists and serious criminals, and why have successive governments failed to overcome this opposi…
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Foreign Interference in the Age of TikTok and Musk
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29:23In this episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC engage in a thought-provoking discussion with their guest, Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation and state threats. Together, they examine the implications of Elon Musk's influence on UK politics, the challenges posed by foreign interference, and the …
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In the latest episode of Double Jeopardy, hosts Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss the implications of the recent Chinese spy case involving Yang Tengbo and Prince Andrew. Looking at the role of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, they consider the sensitive role of national security in immigration law, Britain's evolving view of busi…
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Review of the Year with Joshua Rozenberg
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38:02It’s been quite a year for law and politics in the UK. From the unravelling scandal of wrongful convictions in the Post Office Horizon cases, to the chilling aftermath of the Lucy Letby trial, questions about accountability and reform have never been more pressing, as growing scrutiny, and ever more polarised politics, continue to threaten the deli…
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The announcement that the Ministry of Justice has commissioned the Law Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of homicide law and sentencing in murder cases alongside the Gauke review of sentencing in non-homicide cases means that sentencing policy in England and Wales will be reviewed simultaneously by two separate bodies. Given the role o…
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Judges and the Power of Life and Death
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31:52As the House of Commons casts an historic vote on assisted dying, the debate over this deeply contentious issue isn’t going away. If anything, the vote has ignited even stronger passions on both sides, particularly about the judiciary’s role in navigating such morally charged territory, making decisions over life and death. In the latest episode of…
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Politics, Religion and Assisted Dying
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31:26Why is the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill being introduced as a Private Member’s Bill, and how does this approach compare to historical conscience-driven legislation like the Abortion Act or the abolition of capital punishment? In this episode of Double Jeopardy, hosts Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen delve into the complex issues surrounding a…
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Is the cost of litigating free speech issues in the UK disproportionately high and what reforms might address the problem? In this episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen, together with leading media lawyer Gavin Millar KC, debate the irony of the Daily Mail’s recent victory before the the European Court of Human Rights over the issu…
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Lucy Letby, Fair Trials, and a Conservative Path to Justice
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28:55Join Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen in this episode of Double Jeopardy as they discuss significant legal developments, including the recent Court of Appeal judgment roundly rejecting Lucy Letby’s argument that pre-trial publicity made her retrial unfair. Are jurors really unaffected by prejudicial media reports? They also look at the fascinating politi…
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Defending Diversity and Defining a Woman
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32:15Barristers’ Core Duty Eight currently requires members of the Bar not to discriminate unlawfully against any person. However, the Bar Standards Board now wishes to go further and create a new duty requiring barristers positively to advance equality, diversity and inclusion in their professional lives. In this episode of Double Jeopardy, hosts Ken M…
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No Money for Justice and Chris Kaba: Part 2
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42:08With every aspect of our criminal justice system – the police, courts, prison system and probation service – in a state of apparently permanent crisis thanks to 15 years of systemic underfunding, there seems little hope of fundamental change any time soon. Amidst the turmoil, Danny Shaw - a prominent voice in reporting and analysing criminal justic…
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The Shooting of Chris Kaba and Failing the Victims of Mohamed Al-Fayed
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29:50Metropolitan Police firearms officer Martyn Blake has been acquitted of the murder of gangster Chris Kaba. He may still face the sack because the Independent Office for Police Conduct can pursue disciplinary actions even after a criminal acquittal. How does this process work? And what are the complexities in cases like this? Were the CPS right to p…
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In recent episodes of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen have focused on the massive publicity surrounding the trial of Lucy Letby, and on the barrage of criticism of the expert medical evidence used by the prosecution to prove that babies were deliberately harmed by Lucy Letby, rather than dying of natural causes in circumstances where pr…
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Naomi Campbell’s Philanthropy and Robert Jenrick’s Stupidity
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26:25As political rhetoric in the UK takes an alarming turn, Robert Jenrick’s recent statements link the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to British soldiers committing unlawful killings abroad. These claims have drawn fierce criticism, with experts warning that such accusations not only distort reality but also endanger military personnel in …
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Ian Burnett on Punishment, and the Disgrace of Mohamed Al-Fayed
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53:39In the latest episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen are joined by Lord Burnett of Maldon, the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, to talk about punishment and the British addiction to prison. As one of five co-authors of a significant report on the subject (published by the Howard League in September) Lord Burnett share…
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Diversity, Orwell and the Death of Satire
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30:16In this latest episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen are joined by Akua Reindorf KC, a discrimination law expert at Cloisters Chambers, to discuss the Bar Standards Board's proposal to change a core duty of barristers from the requirement that they ‘should not unlawfully discriminate’ (which would be illegal), to a positive duty th…
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Rape Trials in Peril and the Sentencing of Huw Edwards
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37:25In this latest episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen are joined by Sarah Vine, a KC at Doughty Street Chambers, to discuss the sensitive and difficult issue of the way in which trials of rape and other serious sexual offences are conducted. The trio discuss the complexities surrounding trials of sexual offences, particularly focusi…
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Tommy Robinson's Tax Returns & Grenfell Delays
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31:08In this latest episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen are joined by Dan Neidle, Founder of Tax Policy Associates, to explore the finances of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the far-right street agitator and self-styled journalist who calls himself Tommy Robinson. The trio explore how Yaxley-Lennon has monetised his presence on the internet t…
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Hate, Bigotry and Bleaching the Internet
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34:51Hidden under the cloak of online anonymity, individuals in the UK have been charged and convicted of inciting and encouraging criminal behaviour without actively getting involved themselves. Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen analyse the debate triggered in the wake of the August 2024 riots across the UK; should we and how do we regulate the internet more …
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The case of Lucy Letby is one of the most controversial cases in British legal history. As is well known, the neonatal nurse is currently serving 15 whole-life sentences for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of eight others. Her application for leave to appeal her convictions returned at her first trial was firmly rejected by the…
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The case of Lucy Letby generated shock, revulsion and bewilderment, casting a long shadow over the trust that we place in those who care for the most vulnerable. In the latest episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken and Tim discuss one of the most controversial cases in British legal history—the conviction of Lucy Letby, the neonatal nurse sentenced to 15 …
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“UK riots shops boarded up as England braces for rioting. Thousands of officers on standby as police plan for up to 100 disturbances and 30 counter protests’ In this episode of Double Jeopardy Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen sit down to discuss the planned riots in response to the tragic Southport incident looking at how Keir Starmer is responding, the …
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After spending the best part of 15 years in party politics, Sarah Lunnon now believes that responding to the climate emergency needs a new democracy, a revolution rather than reform. In this episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen are joined by Sarah Lunnon, former Green Party Councillor and Co-founder of Just Stop Oil, to discuss th…
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Fiona Rutherford: Justice into the Future
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35:37The justice system in the UK has faced many challenges over the past 14 years, most notably funding cuts and a lack of resources. In this episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen are joined by Fiona Rutherford the Chief Executive of JUSTICE to discuss the state of the justice system in the UK. They reflect on the past 14 years, discus…
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Starmer’s First Move - Ending Our Addiction to Prison?
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28:40Mark Fairhurst, the National Chairman of the Prison Officers Association, returns to Double Jeopardy to further discuss the prison crisis, now a focal point in the first week of the new Labour government. Guided by hosts Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen, the conversation addresses the emergency measures announced by the new Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmo…
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David Gauke: Conservative Reckoning, Labour Change?
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52:09Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen are joined by David Gauke, Former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. In 2019 he resigned, saying he could no longer serve under Boris Johnson and risk a no-deal Brexit. After expulsion from the Conservative party, he said ‘at last I have something in common with Domonic Cummings.’ It was a poignant remark…
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In this episode, of Double Jeopardy hosts Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss the various aspects of Labour Party's manifesto which was launched on the 13th June 2024 ahead of the Election which is taking place on the 4th July 2024. This episode looks at the intricacies and implications of the proposed law and order policies. The manifesto, which is…
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Mark Fairhurst: Britain’s Prison Shame
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48:11In this episode of Double Jeopardy Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen talk to Mark Fairhurst, National Chairman of the Prison Officers Association, about the long standing and apparently never ending crisis afflicting the UK prison system. This episode presents an in-depth discussion on the overcrowding epidemic and its root causes including the tabloid dr…
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Angus McCullough KC: The Undermining of Secret Justice
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34:29Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen welcome back Angus McCullough KC, who has extensive experience in public and private law and who was the most experienced Special Advocate until his decision to step down in October 2023 in protest at the Government's failure to implement urgent changes to the system of secret justice (as recommended in December 2022 by t…
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Jessica Simor KC: Judicial Activism in the Age of Global Warming
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40:54Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen speak to Jessica Simor KC, an acclaimed specialist in public and regulatory law, EU law, competition law and human rights law. The episode discusses the issue of whether litigation, whether before the European Court of Human Rights or domestic courts can be effective in addressing the challenge presented by climate change…
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Jonathan Jones KC: Will the Rwanda Bill Work?
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30:58Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen react to the passage of the ‘Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024' with Jonathan Jones KC, former Head of the Government Legal Department and Senior Consultant in Public and Constitutional Law at Linklaters.
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Nick Ephgrave - Meet the New Director
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52:03In his first broadcast interview, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss fraud, whistleblowers and disclosure with new Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Nick Ephgrave QPM.
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John Bowers KC - The Power of Corruption
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43:33Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss Boris Johnson and the degradation of the British State with author of ‘Downward Spiral’, John Bowers KC.
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Hannah Quirk - The Problem with Criminal Justice
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44:18Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss the need for a Royal Commission into Criminal Justice with Editor of the Criminal Law Review, Dr Hannah Quirk
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Jo Phoenix - Gender and the Ducking Stool
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44:21Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss cancellation and the politics of gender with criminologist Professor Jo Phoenix.
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Ken and Tim discuss growing calls for more openness in the family court system with Chair of the Transparency Project, Lucy Reed KC.
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Patrick Green KC - Mr Bates Beats the Post Office
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40:07Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen talk to victorious leading counsel for the post masters and mistresses, Patrick Green KC
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Jonathan Jones - Stopping the Boats?
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38:18Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss the Safety of Rwanda Bill and a parliament in wonderland with former Head of the Government Legal Department, Sir Jonathan Jones KC.
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I. Stephanie Boyce - Leading the Law Society
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37:06Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss access to law and legal aid deserts with past President of the Law Society, I. Stephanie Boyce
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Jonathan Hall KC - Gaza and the Right to Protest
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39:17Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss demonstrations, terror and the spectre of hate with Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, Jonathan Hall KC.
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Frances Crook - Political Power and Penal Failure
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39:37Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss political reform and the disaster of Britain’s prisons with Convenor of the Commission on Political Power, Frances Crook
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Adam Wagner - Rwanda and the Rule of Law
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23:55In a special episode, we discuss the Supreme Court’s Rwanda ruling and the government’s response with legal commentator, Adam Wagner.
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Alex Chalk KC - Speaking for the Government
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37:03Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss sentencing, prisons and lefty lawyers with Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk KC
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Angus McCullough KC - When Justice is Secret
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35:14In a special edition, Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen discuss secret trials and promises to Parliament with leading Special Advocate, Angus McCullough KC
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