I am tasked specifically within our firm to deal with cash flow. An important part of that role is to...

Lady Justice is often depicted wearing a blindfold. The blindfold represents impartiality – the ideal that justice should be applied without regard to wealth, power or other status. However, austerity politics is playing on class divisions in the UK to test this ideal to its destruction. It can only be hoped that the election in June will prove to have been the beginning of the end of austerity in the UK.

The fire at the Grenfell Tower block on 14 June 2017 was the type of appalling tragedy that no-one would expect to happen in one of world’s richest countries in the 21st century. A 24-floor tower block in North Kensington, West London was destroyed by a blaze that started in one of the flats. At the time of writing, 80 people have been confirmed dead but local residents believe the real numbers are likely to be significantly higher. Shortly after the fire it emerged that a local residents’ association had raised safety concerns in early 2016, which included the chilling premonition: ‘It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders.’

The Grenfell Action Group and residents raised repeated concerns about the apparent neglect of health and safety legislation. Whilst there are several potential causes of action, the reality for tenants is that they would have struggled to bring a claim for a number of reasons.

There are numerous reasons why a witness may be unable or unwilling to assist a party in litigation, either by providing a witness statement, attending court or both. In such circumstances, careful consideration should be given to how that evidence can be adduced.

The independent McGregor-Smith Review, published earlier this year, looked at issues affecting black and minority ethnic (BME) groups in the workplace, identifying discrimination and bias at every stage. The evidence suggests that BME candidates are being discriminated against during the recruitment process and at interview stage.