A report into the retention of human tissue following suspicious death or homicide investigations by police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland shows there were 492 samples of human tissue held by, or on behalf of police in police premises, hospital mortuaries or other establishments, according to a report by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). The audit was coordinated by the ACPO lead for forensic pathology, Deputy Chief Constable Debbie Simpson (pictured).
Experts practicing across national borders have an added responsibility – to ensure their work is presented according to the codes required in the country of delivery. Professionals working in the USA, where legislation differs from state to state, or in parts of mainland Europe, will be more familiar with this extra challenge than we are … but devolution cometh.
The offices of property specialists Smith & Garratt Rural Asset Management overlook the River Tweed from the ancient hamlet of Ladykirk – about 300 yards north of the Scottish Border. Principal surveyor Hugh Garratt acknowledges that professionals along the Border have to be mindful of the increasing differences in law and procedure between England and Scotland.
Gordon Pollock joins Barnett Waddingham to spearhead drive into expert witness workBarnett Waddingham, the UK’s largest independent firm of actuaries, administrators and consultants has appointed Gordon Pollock to help lead the expansion of the firm's expert witness work.
Gordon, who was formerly a partner at Mercer worldwide and chairman of the Association of Actuaries, has extensive private sector pensions experience acting as scheme actuary to a number of household name pension schemes, as well as providing corporate actuarial advice to FTSE 100 companies. Prior to his early retirement from Mercer, he was their UK chief actuarial officer and had acted as an expert witness for Prudential Assurance Company Limited in the recent Prudential Staff Pension Scheme court case.
The controversy surrounding the appointment of a central agency to provide interpreters for court proceedings shows no sign of abating, if a report in the Law Society Gazette is anything to go by.
According to the journal, a clerk at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court resorted to using Google Translate to pass details of a Lithuanian defendant’s next hearing when no interpreter could be supplied by the contractor, Applied Language Solutions (ALS). Ironically, ALS includes Google among its list of private-sector clients.
The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has urged the Government to protect the fundamental right of citizens to hold private conversations with their lawyers. The call follows a report published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) on the use of undercover police officers.
