Exclusive : City of London police had to investigate itself for a second time following complaints over the stop and search incident Nadine White Race Correspondent “No force, especially under scrutiny or even in another field, should be allowed to ‘investigate’ anything regarding themselves,” Ryan Colaço told  The Independent. (Supplied) Police have been forced to apologise after smashing the car window of a man who had accused officers of racial profiling. Ryan Colaço’s window was shattered by an officer after he was wrongly stopped on suspicion of carrying drugs near Cannon Street station in central London during lockdown on 29 May, 2020. The location manager for the television and film industry was pulled from the vehicle, put against a wall, then driven to a police station and strip searched, where nothing illicit was found. Shortly before he was stopped Mr Colaço, who’s of Asian heritage, had been interviewed by Channel 4 News and accused the Metropolitan Police of racial pro...

 

  Hung jury declared at inquest into death of ex-soldier tasered by police Platoon sergeant Spencer Beynon, from Llanelli, was 43 when he died By Luke O'Reilly and Bronwen Weatherby, PA 10:12, 26 OCT 2021 The jury at an inquest into the death of an ex-soldier who was tasered by police has been discharged after failing to agree about the way he died. Spencer Beynon, 43, a former platoon sergeant from Llanelli,  Carmarthenshire , died on June 14, 2016 after officers were called by members of the public over concerns about his behaviour. The inquest has been taking place at Parc y Scarlets rugby stadium in Llanelli over the last three weeks. Read more:   Go here to see all the latest court and inquest coverage from around Wales Oliver West, one of the two officers who responded to the reports, told the hearing he had "no other option" but to fire his Taser at Mr Beynon, claiming the military veteran had stood and tried to charge at him. Other witnesses, including Mr West...

Quoted in Sky News Exclusive. Sophie Khan, a solicitor who specialises in cases involving Taser-related injuries, said the use of the weapons on children and elderly people was "disturbing". She told Sky News: "The use of less-lethal weaponry is a last resort and should not be used on children and on the elderly, who by their nature are vulnerable. "The police forces need to recognise that Tasers are not the answer to each and every police interaction." https://news.sky.com/story/police-taser-children-aged-10-and-87-year-old-pensioner-amid-sharp-rise-in-officers-firing-devices-12371732

Read comment article by Sophie Khan on Fighting for Military Justice in the Time and Leisure Magazines, September Edition, 2021. https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&edid=3b34a97c-f6a5-473c-bf07-2cf058245448

Article featured in Time and Leisure Magazines May Edition 2021 on the launch of The Military Justice Centre, a bespoke one-stop legal advice service on actions against the Ministry of Defence and other State Authorities to the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces Community.    https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&edid=8f621d8a-0a45-4b2d-a833-0941187a2fb5

 Veteran Advocacy UK is proud to be featured on Veterans In Need CIC   https://www.veteransinneed.org.uk/families

Quoted in The Guardian article by Diane Taylor on the City of London Police's re- investigation  of itself into the stop and search of the firm's client, Ryan Colaco shortly after his Channel 4 interview on the Met Police's use of stop and search. https://www.channel4.com/news/bame-people-more-likely-to-be-fined-under-virus-laws-says-liberty Police force ordered to reinvestigate itself over stop-and-search incident IOPC orders City of London force, which cleared itself of wrongdoing after man was strip-searched, to revisit complaint Ryan Colaçco, 31, a location manager in the film industry, was stopped by City of London police officers  Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA A police force which cleared itself of wrongdoing during a stop-and-search  incident  in which a man who had committed no crime had his car window smashed and was restrained and strip-searched, has been ordered to reinvestigate the matter, the Guardian has learned. Ryan Colaço, 31, a location manager in the f...

  Peers must drop ‘money-saving’ 6-year limit on injury claims by military Injured army veterans will be treated as second class citizens if government fails to drop proposed restrictions to their rights, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said. The warning comes as peers debate amendments to part two of the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill. APIL said if parts of the Bill remain, injured armed forces personnel and veterans will be treated as second class citizens. One military claims lawyer described the proposals as “a money-saving exercise” by the MOD. APIL president Sam Elsby said: “An arbitrary and absolute six-year time limit on negligence claims against the Ministry of Defence remains a part of this Bill.” He said this will mean armed forces personnel injured needlessly during overseas operations will have less legal protection than prisoners in this country.  “Only the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will benefit, as it will escape...

Going solo Sole practitioners have been firmly embedded in the legal landscape for decades (in November 2020 there were 2,036 sole practitioners in England and Wales, making up 20 per cent of firms).  Then the introduction of the SRA Standards and Regulations a little over a year ago paved the way for solicitors to go freelance. And now, the pandemic has triggered a swathe of solicitors to leave private practice and set up on their own, while others are undoubtedly considering taking that step.  Informal mentors can prove crucial to lawyers going solo as freelancers or as sole practitioners; and particularly to those who may be weighing up the risks and benefits of so doing, and may not have the access within their own firm to appropriate informal mentoring.  “Go to your own people, your own type of people”, advises Sophie Khan, solicitor-director of Sophie Khan & Co. For those setting up on their own, she says: “Informal mentoring comes from your own community –...