Best Article Asylum Podcasts (2025)

1
Mr Lammy Goes to Strasbourg- and our Christmas Listeners’ Postbag on Jury Reforms 38:48

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10d ago38:48

38:48

As the UK joins 26 other Council of Europe States in calling for a rebalancing of the European Convention on Human Rights as between the individual rights of irregular migrants and the public interest in defending freedom and security, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss the political imperatives which drove Justice Secretary David Lammy and A…

1
Swapping Judges For Juries: Will This Really Be Swifter And Fairer? 43:10

15d ago43:10

43:10

Are the Government’s proposals radically to reduce a citizen’s right to trial by jury a “swift and fair plan to get justice for victims”, as the MoJ press release declared on 2nd December, or a poorly conceived, confused and untested set of measures which will have no real impact on the Crown Court backlog or the general, long term crisis that affl…

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Are the Courts Flinching on Article 8? And Who’s Trying to Kill the Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Lords? 33:50

24d ago33:50

33:50

Does the Judgment of the Court of Appeal in the Palestinian Family case of IA & others v. Home Secretary - https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IA.MediaSummary.Final_.pdf - indicate that the Judges are submitting to the political pressure to weaken the protection that Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights provides for …

1
Is the Right To Jury Trial Just History? And is the House of Lord’s Assisted Dying Filibuster an Attack on Democracy? 43:35

29d ago43:35

43:35

As the Courts Minister, Sarah Sackman, announces the Government’s intention to enact most of the recommendations in Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, including the abolition of the right to jury trial in cases of serious, complex fraud, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss the devastating attack on Leveson’s justifi…

1
Trump Versus The BBC, and Shabana Mahmood’s Asylum Crackdown 45:59

1M ago45:59

45:59

Is Trump’s threat to sue the BBC for $1billion in a Florida Court over the Panorama documentary just another example of his baseless, abusive use of the Courts to intimidate media companies? And should the BBC submit to his intimidation given the uncertainties of a Florida jury trial? Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by leading media law…

1
Labour Goes To Denmark - And Why Are We Releasing Prisoners By Mistake? 38:26

1M ago38:26

38:26

Is Shabana Mahmood’s proposed overhaul of immigration policies, modelled on Denmark’s stringent system, likely to go too far? As the Justice Secretary sends officials to Denmark to study its famously strict asylum rules, is there a danger that a tougher approach will simply risk the Labour party losing votes to the Greens and Crobyn on its left? Or…

1
Emily Thornberry and the Great China Spy Trial Mystery 45:34

2M ago45:34

45:34

Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Dame Emily Thornberry, to discuss the evidence given to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy by key individuals involved in the decisions to prosecute and ultimately abandon the Chinese Spying case (R v Cash and Berry). In a highly unusual…

1
Lifting the Lid on the Home Office: Crashed, Repaired, or Still Unfit for Purpose? 45:13

2M ago45:13

45:13

Does Shabana Mahmood, like Dominic Cummings before her, believe that the Home Office is a broken, dysfunctional bureaucratic institution that needs a radical overhaul? In this week’s episode Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss these and other questions with the former BBC Home Affairs Correspondent and former adviser to Yvette Cooper, Danny Sh…

1
Why Did The Chinese Spying Case Really Collapse? Double Jeopardy Receives a Leaked Copy of the Defence’s Expert Report and an Exclusive Interview With Its Author, Professor Kerry Brown (who was not the ... 49:33

2M ago49:33

49:33

With the China spying case continuing to generate headlines, mystery and yet more uncertainty surrounding the true reason for the DPP’s decision to drop charges against Chris Cash and Chris Berry under the Official Secrets Act 1911, and Double Jeopardy having been sent an anonymously leaked copy of his expert witness statement, Ken Macdonald KC and…

1
Can Jenrick Go Any Lower? Plus Palestine Action, Chinese Spying and Burning the Koran 36:24

2M ago36:24

36:24

In the wake of Robert Jenrick’s speech to the Conservative Party Conference likening Attorney General Lord Hermer KC to a “Mafia lawyer”, accusing him and Keir Starmer of treason in relation to the Chagos Islands agreement and calling for the sacking of “activist” Judges together with the return of political appointments to our judiciary, Ken Macdo…

1
ECHR Rights, Cruelty, Chinese Whispers, and the Tyranny of Tech Bros in UK Politics 45:51

3M ago45:51

45:51

By Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC

1
Lucy Letby’s Trial Strategy Under the Spotlight, Why the Chinese Spy Case Collapsed, and Meta’s New Low 43:38

3M ago43:38

43:38

With Parliament in recess till mid-October, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC reflect on a number of issues which have dominated the headlines over the past week. After a brief apology from Tim for misquoting in last week’s episode Lord Hermer’s evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee on the issue of reform of the European Convention o…

1
Peter Mandelson, Graham Linehan, Palestine Action, and the Nastiness of Elon Musk 47:43

3M ago47:43

47:43

The recent mass arrests at Palestine Action protests, Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally, the turmoil generated by the sacking of Angela Rayner and Peter Mandelson and the political fall-out from the arrest of Graham Linehan all contribute to a mood of crisis in UK law and politics. Can a weakened and wounded Government reverse the tide? Ken …

1
Small Boats and the Irresistible Rise of Reform UK: Can the Refugee Convention Survive? 47:50

4M ago47:50

47:50

Unpack one of the most dramatic moments in the life of the Labour government so far: Angela Rayner’s resignation, a sweeping cabinet reshuffle, and Shabana Mahmood’s arrival as Home Secretary. With David Lammy moved to Justice and Yvette Cooper shifted to the Foreign Office, what does this signal for immigration, asylum, and criminal justice reform…

1
Mr Farage Goes To Washington: The Truth About The ECHR 29:44

4M ago29:44

29:44

Does the ECHR really block the UK’s ability to implement effective immigration/asylum policies? And why is Nigel Farage doing his best to persuade the foreign US government and its increasingly far right tech bro cronies, to bully the UK over the Online Safety Act, so recently passed by Parliament? And how does this behaviour align with his loudly …

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Farage, Tolerating Torture, and Mass Deportations: Dragging U.K. Justice into Uncharted Waters? 30:10

4M ago30:10

30:10

Can the UK tighten its asylum policies without abandoning its commitments to human rights? Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC provide expert legal commentary on the Bell Hotel Judgment and its far-reaching impact on the government’s asylum policy. They examine the legal reasoning, the clash between local and central government, and the Court of Appea…

1
Holiday Postbag: Lucy Connolly, Lucy Letby, the Leveson Review and Two-Tier Justice 34:28

4M ago34:28

34:28

Is Chris Philp’s tweet about the different outcomes in the Lucy Connolly/Ricky Jones cases simply moronic and embarrassing or something more sinister? What do the ITV and Panorama documentaries tell us about the safety of Lucy Letby’s convictions? What could potentially derail some of Sir Brian Leveson’s proposals for radical reform of the right to…

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Is Our Government Any Good? Palestine Action, Shabana Mahmood, and Foreign Prisoners in UK Jails 38:47

5M ago38:47

38:47

In this week’s episode of Double Jeopardy, hosts Ken Macdonald and Tim Owen are joined once again by an old friend of the podcast, the award-winning, former BBC, journalist and crime and justice commentator Danny Shaw. Together, they dive into the legal, political, and social repercussions faced by Palestine Action supporters following mass arrests…

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LIBOR, Farage’s Cure for Lawless Britain, and Palestine Action in the Dock: UK Justice Goes on Trial 37:08

5M ago37:08

37:08

What happens when the criminal justice system gets it wrong and takes years to admit it? And what does it say about the state of UK law when protestors are labelled terrorists while populists call for military-built prisons? From the Supreme Court’s critical judgment in the high-profile legal case against the LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) t…

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Super Injunctions, Afghanistan, and UK Law 46:22

5M ago46:22

46:22

Is it ever justified for the Government to secure a superinjunction in the face of a perceived risk to the life and limb of countless individuals caused by human error? A catastrophic data leak in February 2022 exposed over 18,000 Afghan applicants for resettlement in the UK to violent retribution by the Taliban and a superinjunction granted in Aug…

1
Sir Brian Leveson and Criminal Justice: A Requiem For Jury Trials in England and Wales? 49:01

5M ago49:01

49:01

The UK criminal justice system is facing an existential threat with court backlogs surging, trial complexity increasing, and decades of chronic underfunding pushing the system to the edge of collapse. Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by Sir Brian Leveson to discuss the findings of his landmark independent review of the criminal courts. T…

1
Lucy Letby: Will She Waive Privilege as UK Prosecutors Widen the Net? 42:40

6M ago42:40

42:40

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is reviewing new allegations against Letby herself, alongside claims of corporate failings that could amount to corporate manslaughter. As police investigate, questions are mounting about accountability at the highest levels of the health system and beyond. As police escalate their investigation into the National…

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Bombing Iran: Self-Defence or a Lawless Attack? 32:50

6M ago32:50

32:50

Has the United States & Israel broken international law by bombing Iran? Or was it an act of Self-Defence? Professor Marko Milanovic, a leading expert in international law joins Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC to assess the legality of the recent Israeli and US military actions against Iranian nuclear facilities. From Article 51 of the UN Charter …

1
When UK Law and Politics Collide: Abortion, Assisted Dying, and Bombing Iran 42:01

6M ago42:01

42:01

How should members of Parliament decide matters of life and death? In the midst of passionate public debate, Parliament has begun to rewrite the legal boundaries around abortion and assisted dying, but what does that mean for the future of UK law? And has the United States broken international law by bombing Iran? Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC e…

1
Politics and Money in UK Justice: Juries, Abortion and the Double Jeopardy Postbag 45:03

6M ago45:03

45:03

What happens when a justice system is asked to do more with less and at what cost to fairness, freedom, and the rule of law? Crime and justice commentator Danny Shaw appears on the show to examine the political and legal fallout from the UK government’s spending review. With stretched police forces, an underfunded probation service, and mounting pr…

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UK Politics and Bad Science: Investigating the Graveyard Spiral of Forensic Science in England and Wales 41:59

7M ago41:59

41:59

Is Britain still a world leader in forensic science or are we sleepwalking into a criminal justice crisis? Once considered the gold standard, the UK’s forensic science system is not working well for anyone – not for the police, not for the suppliers of services, not for the courts and, by extension, not for the public. Yet we all believe it to be a…

1
David Gauke: Solving the UK Prison Crisis 41:38

7M ago41:38

41:38

Why does Britain lock up so many people and is there a better way? The UK has the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe, yet reoffending remains rampant and prisons are at breaking point. What’s gone wrong in our approach to crime and punishment - and is the public ready for a smarter, more effective system? Former Justice Secretary David Ga…

1
State Threats and Subversion: Keeping UK Politics Clean 41:20

7M ago41:20

41:20

What if your political beliefs on Brexit, climate change or even gender identity were being subtly shaped by a foreign power? From hostile state actors exploiting social media to the legal grey zone between terrorism and subversion, Jonathan Hall KC, the UK’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism and State Threat Legislation joins Double Jeopardy to un…

1
100th Episode of Double Jeopardy - Terminating the Cruelty of Victorian Era Abortion Laws: The Campaign to Decriminalise Abortion Across the UK 47:48

7M ago47:48

47:48

In three of the four nations of the UK, abortion remains a crime under legislation passed in 1861, subject to the exemptions from criminal liability in the Abortion Act 1967. Paradoxically, abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019, so that it is now seen as a matter of healthcare rather than the criminal law. Recent prosecutions in E…

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Debating the Rule of Law in the UK: Hermer versus Wolfson 45:56

8M ago45:56

45:56

The clash between David Wolfson KC’s “thin” interpretation of legal principle and Attorney General Richard Hermer’s “thick” is explained through the experienced legal eyes of Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC on this episode of Double Jeopardy. They dig into the political implications of these contrasting views, the role of parliamentary sovereignty…

1
Reforming Criminal Appeals and Righting the Wrongs of UK Justice 45:40

8M ago45:40

45:40

Given the gross miscarriages of justice exposed by the Post Office/Horizon scandal, the extraordinary delay in reversing the wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson due to repeated failures by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and the continuing calls for the case of Lucy Letby to be referred back to the Court of Appeal, is the criminal appeal s…

1
Authoritarians Against Lawyers: Political Attacks on the Rule of Law 39:03

8M ago39:03

39:03

As support for populist movements grows, judicial independence and the rule of law are increasingly under attack. Lawyers around the world are becoming front-line defenders of democracy - and paying the price. Double Jeopardy hosts Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC explain the situation with expert legal commentary and legal system insights. Renowne…

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Womanhood Defined: The UK Supreme Court Puts Biology and Science at the Heart of UK Discrimination and Human Rights Law and Transforms the Approach of UK Politics to Adult Human Females 38:47

8M ago38:47

38:47

What does the law say about who counts as a woman - and who gets to decide? Unpacking the UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the definition of “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 and Gender Recognition Act is guest Karon Monaghan KC, one of the UK’s leading employment and discrimination law barristers. See here for a link to the judgment. The disc…

1
Fake News on Asylum, The Battle to Define Human Rights Law, and Labour’s New UK Politics 36:49

8M ago36:49

36:49

What happens when political leaders and media outlets misrepresent court decisions, and how does this impact judicial independence and public trust in the UK legal system? A range of high-stakes UK law and UK politics issues that have dominated headlines recently are tackled in this listener-driven postbag edition of Double Jeopardy. Hosts Ken Macd…

1
Disclosure, Artificial Intelligence, and Modernising UK Criminal Justice: Will the Fisher Report Have Any Real Impact on Collapsed Trials and the Crumbling UK Justice System? 38:24

9M ago38:24

38:24

What happens when the very foundation of criminal justice - the prosecution disclosure process to the defence - fails to meet modern demands? This episode focuses on the Fisher Report, a groundbreaking review that addresses the critical issues surrounding prosecution disclosure in complex criminal trials, a key issue in the ongoing criminal justice…

1
Two Tier Justice, Mass Migration, and a Pound Shop Trump in the UK Parliament 40:28

9M ago40:28

40:28

Is the UK heading toward a constitutional clash over crime and justice? Exploring a wide range of pressing issues, from the government’s proposed emergency legislation to override revised sentencing guidelines, to the implications of an international summit on organised migration crime. Examining the complexities of asylum claims, the growing contr…

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Lucy Letby’s Victims Strike Back: Identification Evidence, Miscarriages of Justice and Legal System Insights into How UK Juries Reach their Verdicts 32:44

9M ago32:44

32:44

Exploring the high-profile Lucy Letby case, and the dangers of relying too heavily on identification evidence, this episode of Double Jeopardy raises critical concerns about the ban on jury research and how it hampers efforts to improve the criminal justice system through controlled academic study. As expert legal commentators, Tim Owen KC and Ken …

1
Judicial Independence, Human Rights Law and Political Hypocrisy: Breaking Down the 6 Page Letter from the Sentencing Council Chair 27:56

9M ago27:56

27:56

Is UK criminal justice really heading towards a two-tier sentencing system? A fierce debate has erupted over the Sentencing Council’s new guidance on pre-sentence reports, which highlights the need for greater consideration of certain defendant groups, including ethnic minorities. Critics argue that this risks creating an uneven playing field, whil…

1
Amending the Assisted Dying Bill and the Sentencing Council Under Attack 50:39

10M ago50:39

50:39

Should terminally ill adults have the right to decide how and when they die? The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is discussed by Jake Richards MP and hosts Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC. They talk about the legislative process, from the intricacies of the committee stage to the broader implications of the private members' bill system. T…

1
Labour’s Criminal Justice: Performance or Reality? 31:57

10M ago31:57

31:57

Is tougher legislation the answer to crime, or is it just more political posturing? The Government’s monster new Crime and Policing Bill promises to crack down on antisocial behaviour, knife crime, and retail theft. But is any of this really necessary, or is it just another example of performative lawmaking? This episode unpacks the bill’s sweeping…

1
Why Sentencing is Out of Control 32:09

10M ago32:09

32:09

Why is UK penal policy failing so badly? This week, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by former Secretary of State for Justice David Gauke, who has just published Part 1 of his Independent Review into Sentencing. In the face of falling crime, why do we have the highest prison population in Western Europe, and why can’t we reduce our expen…

1
Immigration, Asylum and Liberal Democracy 27:19

10M ago27:19

27:19

A high-profile immigration case takes centre stage at Prime Minister’s Questions, sparking debate over refugee law and the reality of power politics in an age of populism. In this episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC dissect Kemi Badenoch’s focus on a controversial ruling involving a Palestinian family. They go on to conside…

1
Lucy Letby: The Experts Break Cover 33:48

11M ago33:48

33:48

Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC explore the latest developments in the case of Lucy Letby, as her new barrister holds a second press conference revealing the conclusion of 14 experts that every baby died either as a result of natural causes or because of medical neglect. Do these new medical opinions ‘demolish’ the evidence of the prosecution expe…

1
The Stolen Honour of Andrew Malkinson 38:21

11M ago38:21

38:21

Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by guest Chris Henley KC, to explore the terrible miscarriage of justice which led to Andrew Malkinson spending 17 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. Looking at Chris’s report into the scandal, they examine the failures of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and its atrocious mishandling of cr…

1
Southport, Terrorism and Whole Life Tariffs 30:03

11M ago30:03

30:03

Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC review the Southport murder trial, following Axel Rudakubana's sentencing to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of three girls in Southport in July 2024. The discussion examines the implications of recent legislative changes surrounding whole life orders for young people, the public's …

1
Listening to Criminals 27:51

11M ago27:51

27:51

In this episode, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC examine the powerful arguments for using telephone intercept evidence in UK criminal trials. Why are the security services so opposed to a reform that would obviously give a major boost to convicting terrorists and serious criminals, and why have successive governments failed to overcome this opposi…

1
Foreign Interference in the Age of TikTok and Musk 31:08

12M ago31:08

31:08

In this episode of Double Jeopardy, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC engage in a thought-provoking discussion with their guest, Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation and state threats. Together, they examine the implications of Elon Musk's influence on UK politics, the challenges posed by foreign interference, and the …

1
Spies, Royals and Elon Musk 37:37

12M ago37:37

37:37

In the latest episode of Double Jeopardy, hosts Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC discuss the implications of the recent Chinese spy case involving Yang Tengbo and Prince Andrew. Looking at the role of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, they consider the sensitive role of national security in immigration law, Britain's evolving view of busi…

1
Review of the Year with Joshua Rozenberg 39:47

1y ago39:47

39:47

It’s been quite a year for law and politics in the UK. From the unravelling scandal of wrongful convictions in the Post Office Horizon cases, to the chilling aftermath of the Lucy Letby trial, questions about accountability and reform have never been more pressing, as growing scrutiny, and ever more polarised politics, continue to threaten the deli…

1
Getting Away with Murder? 27:25

1y ago27:25

27:25

The announcement that the Ministry of Justice has commissioned the Law Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of homicide law and sentencing in murder cases alongside the Gauke review of sentencing in non-homicide cases means that sentencing policy in England and Wales will be reviewed simultaneously by two separate bodies. Given the role o…