Legal aid changes in England and Wales could mean hundreds of thousands more people representing themselves in court, judges have warned. So how exactly do you become an amateur lawyer? This report from the BBC. You know how it works. You’ve seen the courtroom dramas – Rumpole of...

The chief executive and chief operating officer at Alibaba, one of China’s largest internet companies, have resigned after an internal fraud investigation, reports the Telegraph. Alibaba, which helps customers in the West source their goods from more than half-a-million Chinese factories,...

Divorcing couples will be referred to mediation to sort out most disputes before they are allowed to use the courts, the government is announcing. This report from the BBC. Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said mediation was “a quicker, cheaper and more amicable alternative” to...

The government is considering a change in the law after the BBC revealed a south London councillor had a gun crime conviction but could not be sacked. Stephen Govier, a councillor in Southwark who runs a crime prevention scheme, was sentenced to six years in the US for shooting a man. He did...

A man accused of ordering the murder of his wife during their honeymoon in South Africa is being treated in hospital, his spokesman has said. This report from the BBC. Shrien Dewani, who has been suffering from clinical depression and a stress disorder, was taken to Bristol Royal Infirmary on...

West End musical Legally Blonde has won four prizes at this year’s What’s On Stage Awards, it has been announced. This report from the BBC. The show’s leading lady Sheridan Smith took home the prize for best actress in a musical and co-star Jill Halfpenny won best supporting...

Gay couples will be able to marry for the first time under a radical plan to overhaul marriage laws, the Coalition announces today. This report from the Telegraph. Ministers are preparing to scrap the centuries-old legal definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman to promote...

Exeter City Football Club is to take legal advice after the state of its pitch forced the postponement of the League One match against Swindon Town, reports the BBC. Tuesday night’s game was cancelled after officials decided the goalmouth at the away end was waterlogged. In a statement...

A boss who took an employee he caught stealing to the police station with a sign saying “Thief” around his neck has paid £13,000 after the criminal sued for “humiliation”. This report from the Telegraph. Simon Cremer, 47, took Mark Gilbert, 40, to the police station...

A legal bid to allow women having an early medical abortion to take some of their pills at home has been rejected by the High Court, reports the BBC. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) had challenged the law, arguing women should choose where they complete their treatment. Women...

Ex-Labour MP Jim Devine has been found guilty of dishonestly claiming £8,385 of expenses by using false invoices for cleaning and printing work, reports the BBC. The ex-MP for Livingston, 57, was found guilty on two counts, but cleared of a third count, relating to £360. Devine nodded as the...

Apple is being warned against trying to squeeze cash out of the newspaper industry by controlling subscriptions for iPads and iPhones, reports the BBC. The European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA) says it is concerned by the company’s plans to direct online sales through...

Young couples are being actively discouraged from marrying and ministers should start championing families rather than celebrity culture, a leading Cabinet minister will say today. This report from the Telegraph. In what is the Coalition’s clearest pro-marriage intervention since it was...

The government should cut its ties with the “expansionist” European Court of Human Rights, says a report by a right-leaning think tank. This story published by the BBC. The Policy Exchange report says the recent row over prisoners’ voting rights highlights the issue. The...

Britons are the most anxious about immigrants, an international survey of eight European and North American countries has suggested. This report from the BBC. The Transatlantic Trends poll of about 1,000 people in each country found 23% of British people thought immigration was the...

A law firm has announced plans to move 180 back-office jobs from its London base to Northern Ireland, reports the BBC. Allen and Overy, one of the top “magic circle” London firms, has said it hopes to save £10m over five years through the relocation. In total, the company expects...

Five men charged in connection with the murder of Michaela McAreavey appeared in court in Mauritius on Wednesday, reports the BBC. Lawyers for Avinash Treebhoowoon, 29, who is charged with murder, asked the magistrate to step down because he had not given a hearing to complaints of police...

An ‘elderly’ thief, who is nicknamed the ‘Geezer Bandit’, is being hunted by police in California after he pulled off his thirteenth bank robbery, reports the Telegraph. The FBI is offering a $20,000 (£13,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the man,...