Tom Bingham

Tom Bingham was the Senior Law Lord until he retired in 2008. He was previously Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. He died in September 2010.

Cherished for centuries as the great bulwark of British liberty, the remedy of habeas corpus has in recent years lost much of its practical importance. Experienced judges may retire without ever having granted the remedy, or being asked to do so. This is not because today’s judges are less protective of personal liberty than their forebears – perhaps the reverse is true. It is...

The practice of recent American presidents, in absolving criminal defendants and suspects from the penal consequences of their offending and remitting sentences, has been viewed by many British and some American observers with a mixture of incredulity and bewilderment.

During the break-up with Kimberly Quinn that precipitated his break-up with the Home Office, David Blunkett is reported to have warned her: ‘The law is on my side. I know because I made the...

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