The Bindmans Archives

Dive into the archives

Episode thirteen | Reclaim These Streets 2022

Theodora Middleton joins us to discuss the judicial review challenge brought by Reclaim These Streets over the Metropolitan Police’s handling of a proposed vigil in memory of Sarah Everard, and in opposition of violence against women. Theodora discusses the details of this case and the impact she expects it to have in the future. Since this podcast was recorded, the Metropolitan Police’s application to appeal has been refused.

Episode twelve | The Fragrant Archers 1987

Tory MP Jeffrey Archer was famously jailed for perverting justice and perjury after he was accused of lying and creating false diary entries in order to win damages in the 1987 libel case against the Daily Star, centred around allegations he had sex with a prostitute. Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC (Hon) joins Jon Crocker to discuss the case and his involvement.

Episode eleven | Witham 1997

In 1997, Mr Witham wanted to bring an action for defamation. However, legal aid wasn’t available for defamation claims and we was unable to afford the court fees due, the Lord Chancellor having withdrawn an exemption from fees for people on income support. In this episode we look at how Bindmans successfully claimed that this violated Mr. Witham’s common law constitutional right to access to the courts in one of the first cases that propounded the principle of fundamental constitutional rights at common law.

Episode ten | Mandla 1983

Stephen Grosz KC (Hon) discusses the significance of the case of Mandla v Dowell-Lee. A Sikh man brought a claim under the Race Relations Act after his 12-year-old was banned from wearing his turban at school. The Birmingham County Court and the Court of Appeal dismissed the claim, ruling that Sikhs were not an ethnic group. Represented by Bindmans, Mr Mandla took the case to the House of Lords, which reversed the lower court rulings and found that Sikhs were protected by the Act.

Episode nine | Marshall 1986/1993

Helen Marshall, a dietician working for Southampton and Southwest Hampshire area health authority instructed Bindmans after she was dismissed from her role despite wanting to continue working past her employer’s retirement age for women. In this episode discover how Bindmans represented Miss Marshall as she went to the European court and changed the law, not once, but twice: establishing first that differential retirement ages amounted to unlawful sex discrimination; and secondly that a limit on compensation in employment discrimination cases was unlawful.

Episode eight | Cambridge Analytica 2018

In a headline case that gained interest globally, Tamsin Allen acted for Chris Wiley, who blew the whistle on Cambridge Analytica, a consultancy working for the Trump Campaign, who had illegally obtained the Facebook information of 87 million people and used it to build psychological profiles of voters. Tamsin joins Jon Crocker to discuss the details of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, its wider impact on society, and how she see it influencing the future of social media and the regulation of channels.

Episode seven | Goldsmith 1976

Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC (Hon) covers the case of Sir James Goldsmith, a billionaire businessman who launched a number of libel cases against Private Eye following them publishing a series of stories and jokes that involved or were about him. Alongside the libel cases against the editors and publishers of Private Eye, he also did something which no one had ever done before, he issued a whole lot of claims against distributors and shops who sold Private Eye. Find out more about the case and Bindmans’ contribution in this episode.

Episode six | Mendoza 2004

Stephen Grosz KC (Hon) joins us to talk about the case of Ghaidan v. Godin-Mendoza, a case that marked an increase of recognition of the importance of gay rights and same sex relationships. Mr Mendoza was in a same-sex relationship when his partner of 30 years died, and their landlord disputed his entitlement to succeed to the assured tenancy of their flat. At a time when the Human Rights Act was being developed, the case showed how useful the act would be in interpreting legislative provisions so that they did not discriminate against gay couples.

Episode five | Hanratty 1961

Despite little evidence against him and denying any involvement, James Hanratty was convicted of the ‘A6 Murder’ and in 1962 became one of the last people in the UK to be executed before capital punishment was abolished. Hanratty denied it was him up until his death, and his family have fought to prove his innocence since. In this episode, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC (Hon) discusses one of the most talked-about murder cases in British legal history and his involvement in the case.

Episode four | Phone Hacking Scandal 2011

Tamsin Allen joins us to discuss the well-known phone hacking scandal which led to the eventual collapse of the News of The World. Bindmans LLP set up a claimant group formed of many of those targeted, or who had been informed they were targeted by the scandal. In this episode, Tamsin covers her involvement in the case and the wider effects it had on society.

Episode three | Ponting 1985

Bindmans represented Clive Ponting, a senior British civil servant in the Ministry of Defence, after leaked documents about the needless sinking of a ship in the Falklands War saw him arrested and charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act. Despite the judge directing the jury that they should convict him, Ponting was acquitted. In this episode, we discuss Bindmans’ involvement in the case and how it’s set a precedent with regards to the Official Secrets Act and the issue of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

Episode two | Sutherland 1997

Bindmans represented a 17-year-old gay man, bringing an application to the European commission of human rights in 1994 on his behalf in the case of Sutherland v UK. The application argued that discrimination between gay men and gay women with regard to the age of consent was unjustified. In this episode, Stephen Grosz KC (Hon) discusses the case, how it led to the law being changed and his thoughts now that time has passed.

Episode one | Pinochet 1999

Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC (Hon) joins us to discuss the case of the infamous dictator of Chile, General Pinochet, who was the first head of state to be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Geoffrey discusses his involvement in the efforts to waive Pinochet’s immunity and have an extradition order granted, in what is regarded by many as the most important international law case.