Hilary Meredith is seeking clarification from the Ministry of Justice on how their revised guidelines for bereaved families receiving public funding at Inquests impact on the armed forces community. Legal aid is currently provided under the government’s exceptional case funding (ECF) scheme. The Ministry of Justice says the Lord Chancellor’s guidance now makes clear that…
I welcome the MoJ’s announcement that guidance for its legal aid safety net will be amended to make it easier for families of people who have died in custody to receive public funding. Legal aid is currently provided under the government’s exceptional case funding (ECF) scheme. However, the Lord Chancellor’s guidance now makes clear that…
Last week I outlined my proposals for new legislation to protect service personnel and veterans from prosecution in the line of duty. In recent times military service personnel have been exposed to individual prosecution like never before – in particular historic cases from Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. Whilst each set of circumstances and reasons…
Hilary Meredith has outlined proposals for new legislation to protect service personnel and veterans from prosecution in the line of duty. Hilary, Chair of Hilary Meredith Solicitors Ltd and Visiting Professor of Law and Veterans’ Affairs at the University of Chester, has been working with a range of service personnel, veterans, charities, academics and politicians…
Support is growing for the introduction of a statute of limitations preventing the prosecution of army veterans for historic offences – but there remains a great deal of work to be done. In his final speech before moving to Brussels to become chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach today told…
Corporate Joshua Hoole, a soldier with the British Army, died at the age of 26 whilst on an army fitness test in 2016. He was engaged in heavy training on Brecon Beacons in excessively high temperatures. Fellow troops became ill due to the intensive heat and it was clear that these were extraordinary circumstances in…
I was honoured to attend the City of London Solicitors’ Company’s Royal Charter celebration at the Guildhall last night. The company received its Royal Charter in 1957 and the current Master’s year therefore sits across the 60th Anniversary of the grant of the Charter. To recognise this, Liverymen and Freemen were invited to attend a…
Congratulations to Andy Reid, community ambassador at Hilary Meredith Solicitors, on being nominated at the inaugural Heropreneurs Awards. The Heropreneurs Awards, in association with The Telegraph, is a new scheme created to celebrate the success and entrepreneurial spirit of ex-members – and their families – of the Armed Forces. Andy is shortlisted for the special…
New figures have again highlighted how the current “sticking plaster” approach to NHS underfunding is not working. In a major report, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says that merely to maintain provision at current levels, spending on healthcare will have to rise by an average 3.3 per cent a year above inflation over the…
A Court has found the governing body of British Bobsleigh responsible for causing the accident to an athlete in 2011. Serita Shone, a talented young elite athlete took up bobsleighing in 2011, having switched from athletics having already competed for Great Britain to take on a new challenge. On the 26 October 2011, whilst taking…
Hundreds of fresh allegations of British Army wrongdoing in Iraq have been lodged with the High Court says The Sun. Leigh Day, the law firm, has submitted 250 cases relating to alleged mistreatment by UK service personnel to the High Court. It is said to be considering the submission of another 200 cases, depending on…
A report in today’s Independent says Britain’s armed forces could be almost £21bn short of the money it needs to buy equipment to combat mounting threats over the next decade. The Public Accounts Committee said it was “highly sceptical” that the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) ongoing modernisation programme would solve affordability issues and ensure Britain’s…
Hilary Meredith has accused the Government of a “fundamental dereliction of duty” over reports that British troops will be denied amnesty from prosecution for deaths during the Troubles. Today’s Telegraph says a consultation document being drawn up by the Northern Ireland Office on how to handle legacy killings will rule out protection for Armed Forces…
We were delighted to sponsor the launch of Headway Wirral’s new support group at the impressive Westbourne Hall in West Kirby today. Headway is a fantastic UK-wide charity that works to improve life after brain injury. The charity does a great and important job in supporting people with brain injury through a wide range of…
Hilary Meredith Solicitors has secured one of the highest ever settlements in a Non-Freezing Cold Injury (NFCI) claim. The firm’s client, Soldier D, joined the Army in 2006 and was medically discharged in 2016 as a result of his NFCI. In December 2012, Soldier D, aged 22, attended an exercise at a location in England….
A British soldier has died in the final week of his training course in a tragic diving incident. An investigation has been launched into the death of Lance Corporal George Partridge at the National Dive Activity Centre in Chepstow, Gloucestershire. My heart goes out to Lance Corporal George Partridge’s family on this tragic loss of…
In light of revelations that disgraced lawyer Phil Shiner was paid £2.3 million by the MoD in the three years before his firm was declared bankrupt, military lawyer Hilary Meredith is calling for a full Inquiry into the relationship between Shiner, his firm Public Interest Lawyers and the MoD. The taxpayers’ cash was handed over…
Thanks to everyone who attended our staff conference today, where we focused on the importance of quality – for our lawyers, work, clients and commitment. Over the last 12 months, the firm has enjoyed many successes with hugely important cases settling for record amounts. We’ve been involved in parliamentary debates, influenced the closure of IHAT,…
It is nothing short of disgraceful that the widow of an academic stabbed to death by a man suffering from psychosis has been denied legal aid for an inquest into the killing. Jeroen Ensink, 41, was killed outside his home in December 2015 by student Femi Nandap, 23, days after knife charges against Nandap were…