Alex Blair

Comms

See below the news and media items Alex has coordinated through his communications and human rights work. NOTE - some of these pieces are not written solely by Alex nor are they his intellectual property.

BBC News •

Calls for public inquiry into Manchester synagogue terror attack

The chief coroner overseeing inquests into the deaths of two men killed in the attack on a Manchester synagogue is to ask the government to hold a public inquiry instead.Judge Alexia Durran, chief coroner of England and Wales, said she would write to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to recommend the inquests be converted into a public inquiry after being told some MI5 material could not be heard in open court because of national security concerns. Inquests were planned into the deaths of Adrian Da...
The Guardian •

Manchester synagogue attack: ministers seek to block MI5 files from inquest

Ministers are seeking to block intelligence material from being heard at an inquest into the death of two men killed in the 2025 Manchester synagogue attack.Lawyers for Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, told a coroner on Thursday that disclosing the MI5 files would pose a serious risk to national security.Melvin Cravitz, 66, died as a result of multiple knife wounds inflicted by the attacker, Jihad al-Shamie. Adrian Daulby, 53, was killed by a single police gunshot wound as he held the buildi...
BBC News •

Inquest to be held nearly nine years after Walkden arson murders

An inquest is to be held into the deaths of a mother and her four children murdered in an arson attack almost nine years on from the incident.The blaze in December 2017 claimed the lives of Demi Pearson, 15, her brother Brandon, eight, and sisters Lacie, seven, and Lia, three.Their mother, Michelle Pearson, suffered 68% burns to her body and "clung on to life" until she died, aged 37, on 25 August, 2019 – 20 months after the attack in Walkden, Greater Manchester.Timothy Brennand, senior coroner...
ITV News •

Boy, five, died after jumping from ‘compromised’ tower block window

A five-year-old boy died after jumping from a 15th-floor tower block window which had become “compromised”, a coroner said.Aalim Ahmed died instantly when he fell from a kitchen window, which could tilt and turn, at a residential block in Plaistow, east London.His distraught father Makail Ahmed rushed from the top-floor temporary social housing flat and discovered his body shortly before 6am on May 16 2024.Aalim’s mother Sahra Osman has described their son’s death as “preventable” and blamed New...
The Guardian •

Palestine Action activists face being sentenced as terrorists over bank damage

Five Palestine Action activists face being sentenced as terrorists for breaking windows and throwing red paint at a branch of Barclays Bank in Lancashire.Brendon O’Hagan, 28; Amanda Kelly, 31; Hmeera Atiqnisar, 31; Mohammed Malik, 28; and Alma Yaniv, 70, were found guilty of causing £212,000 of damage during a direct action protest in Burnley in August 2024. They targeted the bank because it held shares in the Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems.After last month’s verdicts the judge, Philip Parry...
Garden Court North Chambers •

Descent into Authoritarianism? Undermining the Role of Defence Lawyers: The Rajiv Menon KC Case

Garden Court North Chambers, Garden Court Chambers, One Pump Court Chambers and Nexus Chambers join together to host an event expressing concern and solidarity for Rajiv Menon KC, who faces prosecution for contempt of court for the contents of a closing speech.

The alleged contempt concerns the closing speech that Rajiv delivered to a jury at the Woolwich Crown Court in January 2026, when he was defending pro-Palestine activists charged with criminal damage during direct action taken at a factory in Filton, Bristol, belonging to Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer.

No lawyer in British legal history has ever been prosecuted for contempt for the contents of a closing speech. This case risks creating a chilling effect, especially in politically sensitive or high-profile cases, which will result in self-censorship, weakened defence representation, and a diminished right to a fair trial.

Garden Court North's Pete Weatherby KC chaired the event, joined by luminaries from across the human rights world: Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, Lord John Hendy KC, Riel Karmy-Jones KC (Chair of the Criminal Bar Association), Gareth Peirce, Michael Mansfield KC, Akiko Hart (Director of LIBERTY), Raju Bhatt, Marcia Willis Stewart KC, Keir Monteith KC, Jane Deighton, Henry Blaxland KC, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC, Deborah Coles (INQUEST), Matt Foot (APPEAL), Asad Rehman (Friends of the Earth) and Sarah-Jane Ewart. There were also messages of support from Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, Ed Fitzgerald KC and Kirsty Brimelow KC (Chair of the Bar Council).

The event was sponsored by Bindmans LLP, Bhatt Murphy, Birnberg Peirce, Deighton Pierce Glynn, ITN Solicitors, Kellys Solicitors, Hodge Jones Allen and Robert Lizars Solicitors.

Watch more here: @DefendOurLawyers
The Guardian •

Palestine Action barrister’s prosecution criticised as ‘chilling’

The prosecution of a leading human rights barrister for contempt of court over his closing speech during a trial of Palestine Action activists has left lawyers fearful of doing their job, the chair of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has said.Rajiv Menon KC, who was acting for the defence, is due to stand trial next week, accused of breaching the judge’s directions in the trial of six people for a direct action protest at an arms factory of the Israeli subsidiary Elbit Systems UK in Filton, ne...
Hyphen •

Asylum seekers placed in houses that pose ‘imminent safety risk’

Home Office and local council staff sent to inspect controversial “dispersal” housing for asylum seekers and their families have found dozens of hazards so serious that they pose an “imminent risk” to tenants’ safety, data obtained by Hyphen reveals.

Collapsed ceilings, damp and mould-ridden homes, overcrowding, vermin infestations and excess cold are among the issues affecting people — including children — who live in the properties, which are run for profit by firms including Serco and Clears...
The Guardian •

Burnham hails Hillsborough law as ‘rewiring of the state’ as MPs approve bill

Andy Burnham has hailed a power shift from the state to the people as MPs finally passed the stalled Hillsborough law, a rare moment of Labour unity with the bill set to be a key legacy of Keir Starmer’s government.In his first intervention in the Commons since returning as an MP, Burnham said the bill was a significant step towards securing the accountability the Hillsborough families had fought for – but should never have had to do.“We have had a situation in this country where people suffer t...
BBC News •

Hillsborough Law shows 'true power belongs to ordinary people'

He said it had been a "truly remarkable collective effort", also thanking Andy Burnham MP and Ian Byrne MP "for their unwavering support throughout", as well as his fellow directors of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign "especially Pete Weatherby KC, whose relentless determination to ensure this legislation remained true to its original intent never wavered" and his colleagues at Broudie Jackson Canter."While there is still work to do, I hope this week marks the beginning of a new chapter - one i...
The Independent •

Mother of jailed Palestine Action activist says case was a ‘stitch-up’

A Palestine Action activist sentenced to jail as a terrorist over a raid at an Israeli-linked defence factory was “stitched up”, her mother says. Leona “Ellie” Kamio was among four defendants jailed after causing £1.2 million of damage at Elbit Systems factory near Bristol in August 2024. But legal experts and campaigners have warned the judge’s decision to sentence on the basis the raid was an “act of terrorism” – without telling the jury – was “chilling”. “I think it’s quite clear that all the...
CIReN •

Anti-corruption authority recommends criminal cases against former President Anastasiades, others

The Independent Authority Against Corruption in Cyprus has identified six cases of suspected criminal offences connected to former President Nicos Anastasiades along with at least one other felony offence, and recommended that criminal cases be launched.

As a result of a two-year investigation based on the book ‘Kratos Mafia’ (Mafia State) by journalist Makarios Drousiotis, which alleges systemic corruption within the state, the offences attributed to Anastasiades include three counts of tradin...
BBC News •

Taunton man challenges council tax change for disabled people

A man with a number of physical and mental health conditions has begun a legal challenge in the High Court against a council's decision to remove his exemption from paying council tax.Andy Mitchell, from Taunton in Somerset, along with many others in the country, has recently been moved from "legacy" disability benefits to Universal Credit (UC) by the government.As a recipient of UC, he now only receives a 10% discount from council tax as it is classed as earnings. A judicial review of the decis...
The Guardian •

Barrister in Palestine Action trial facing contempt of court proceedings

A leading human rights barrister is facing contempt of court proceedings after he was accused of defying a judge’s orders during a trial of Palestine Action activists.Rajiv Menon KC is accused of breaching the judge’s directions while giving his closing speech in the trial of six people in relation to a 2024 direct action protest at an arms factory of the Israeli subsidiary Elbit Systems UK in Filton, near Bristol.None of the defendants were convicted of any offence after the first trial, which...
Liverpool Echo •

Our sons should never have died. This needs to change now.

Natasha Perry and Johnny Santer have lots in common. They are both parents to boys who had their own unique personalities, who enjoyed skateboarding and who knew some of the same friends. Tragically, the two parents are fused together because their boys both died in remarkably similar and traumatic circumstances.

Gabriel Santer was just 15-years-old when he fell to his death from the Hanover Street Q Park in Liverpool City Centre on October 3 2020. On March 14 in 2025, Josh Perry died at the ag...
BBC News •

Council failing led to tree swing death of girl, 12, inquest hears

A 12-year-old girl was killed by a falling branch while playing on a rope swing which should have been removed by the council, an inquest has heard.Brooke Wiggins was just days away from her 13th birthday on 9 November 2024 when she was fatally injured at Grove Place, near the junction with Carshalton Road in Banstead, Surrey.The tree she was swinging from, which is maintained by Surrey County Council, had not been inspected since May 2022, South London Coroner's Court in Croydon heard on Wedne...
Garden Court North Chambers •

Nina Grahame KC in The Times: retirement, theatre to law, vulnerable female defendants

Garden Court North’s Nina Grahame KC has been featured in The Times’ ‘In Conversation’ column, in which she discusses her pending retirement, the litany of high-profile criminal cases she acted on, and some of the key issues she has championed throughout her 33 years at the Bar.

The column, published today (16 April 2026), also chronicles some of Nina’s life before coming...
The Guardian •

UK Palestine Action ban ruled unlawful, in humiliating blow for ministers

Judges have humiliated ministers by insisting Palestine Action should not be banned under anti-terrorism laws in a ruling that has left thousands of its alleged supporters in legal limbo.

The high court said on Friday the government’s proscription of the direct action group was “disproportionate and unlawful” and that most of their activities had not reached the level, scale and persistence to be defined as terrorism.
The Guardian •

Palestine Action activists cleared of aggravated burglary at Israeli defence firm site

Six Palestine Action activists have been cleared of committing aggravated burglary over a break-in at an Israeli defence firm’s UK site. Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, Fatema Rajwani, Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin were accused of threatening unlawful violence and using sledgehammers as weapons after a prison van was driven into Elbit Systems’ factory in Filton, near Bristol, on 6 August 2024. But after a trial at Woolwich crown court, south London, none were convicted of any offence.
ABC •

Donald Trump says a 'beautiful armada' is heading for Iran

US President Donald Trump has urged Iran to make a deal on the future of its nuclear ambitions, warning the next American attack would be far worse.Meanwhile, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says more than 6,000 people have been killed in the brutal crackdown on protesters - but other groups put the toll in the tens of thousands, with an internet blackout making it difficult to verify.

US President Donald Trump has urged Iran to make a deal on the future of its nuclear ambitions...
Garden Court North Chambers •

Government’s ill-considered proposals to limit jury trials will result in irrevocable damage for no tangible gain

Garden Court North’s Nina Grahame KC will join barristers at a Parliamentary Lobby Day at Westminster on 3 February to discuss the proposed jury reforms. Credit: HY-DP / Shutterstock.

Garden Court North’s crime team unequivocally opposes the Government’s proposal to restrict the right to a jury trial, a proposal to irrevocably damage a fair, tried and tested system providing justice to all members of society.
Load More