TMT analysis: In a claim for libel brought by Unite the Union (Unite) over 24 Facebook posts made by a disaffected former member, Mrs Justice Collins Rice awarded general damages of £50,000 and granted a final injunction. The posts made serious allegations of criminality in relation to Unite’s branch for British Airways cabin staff (BASSA) which had conducted negotiations with BA in summer 2020 over a proposed large-scale redundancy exercise necessitated by the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the travel industry. This is a rare example of a defamation claim brought by a trade union and, although it needs to be treated with a degree of caution, the judgment provides some insight into how damages in such a claim should be assessed. Written by Aidan Eardley QC, barrister at 5RB.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published corrections to information regarding personal protective equipment procurement during the early COVID-19 pandemic, originally published in November 2021. The corrections include adding LUXE LIFESTYLE LTD to the High Priority Lane suppliers list following discovery of information during preparation for module 5 (procurement) of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, with public hearings held in March 2025. The DHSC has amended referral details for P1F Ltd, replacing the previously named individual with the FCO Donations Team as both source of referral and actual referrer. Additionally, a spelling correction has been made to list Inivos Ltd correctly under the New Buy heading, previously misspelled as Invios. The corrections were announced in a written ministerial statement by Karin Smyth MP, Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care), on 30 October 2025.

The Health & Care Professionals Council (HCPC) has published a blog on the subject of the importance of maintaining fitness to practise, wellbeing and seeking help where necessary. In the blog post, Head of Fitness to Practise, Laura Coffey, states: ‘We are increasingly aware of the demand and pressures on health and care professionals and indeed most recently with the added impact of the global [coronavirus (COVID-19)] pandemic. Increasing workload on professionals and healthcare services, combined with growing external scrutiny of their practise has often been linked directly to high stress and poor wellbeing.’ She also highlights that the HCPC is currently consulting on the standards of proficiency, and that ‘one key area of change being proposed within this consultation is the importance of our registrants maintaining fitness to practise as well as considering the role of mental health and being able to seek help where necessary’. This includes whether the standards should ‘mention mental health or wellbeing explicitly’.

Arbitration analysis: The Superior Court of Justice of Lima (Corte Superior de Justicia de Lima) annulled the arbitral award between Ingram Micro SAC and the Public Ministry, citing motivación aparente (apparent reasoning) in the arbitrator's decision. In the 2020 dispute over computer equipment delivery delays due to the pandemic, the Ministry terminated the contract and imposed penalties. The arbitral tribunal sided with Ingram Micro, rejecting the contract termination and penalties. However, the court's decision underscores the need for coherent and well-founded reasoning in arbitral awards. It highlights the delicate balance between arbitration autonomy and judicial oversight, emphasizing the importance of avoiding apparent reasoning. This case sets a precedent for arbitration in Peru, urging parties to provide thorough justifications to mitigate the risk of annulment based on perceived lack of substance in the arbitral decision Written by Seguimundo Navarro, partner at inARB | Arbitrator | MCIArb | ArbP | LLM, Spain.

Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence analysis: On 27 August 2024, a new Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement was signed by NHS Resolution and representatives of claimant medical negligence solicitors and injured patients. The new Agreement replaces the earlier COVID-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol 2020 (COVID-19 Protocol), which enabled claims to continue to be progressed efficiently during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Agreement builds on the earlier Protocol by outlining ways in which parties should work cooperatively. It also acknowledges the importance, to injured patients and bereaved families, of ensuring that lessons are learned from patient safety incidents and that similar events are not repeated. Suzanne Farg, director at Fieldfisher, considers the main points to note from the updated protocol.

Commercial analysis: This case concerned the interpretation of an equity commitment letter (ECL) governed by English law under which the defendant had agreed to provide €93m to its indirect subsidiary for it to purchase a hotel business from a third party. The share purchase agreement governing the underlying transaction never completed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and is now the subject of Spanish litigation. The parties asked the High Court to consider seven issues of interpretation of the ECL including whether the defendant was obliged to put its indirect subsidiary in funds in circumstances where there was a dispute regarding the underlying transaction. The High Court found against the defendant on all issues bar one. Written by Emily Woodwark, associate, Payne Hicks Beach.

The Cabinet Office has published the communiqué from the eleventh Interministerial Standing Committee (IMSC) meeting, held via videoconference on 17 February 2026. At the meeting, the IMSC discussed ongoing joint work to ensure that electoral processes and election candidates across the UK are safeguarded from evolving physical and digital security threats and illegal practices ahead of the upcoming elections in Scotland and Wales. It also discussed preparations for government responses to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 2ABC report, published in November 2025, which examined core administrative and political decision-making across all four nations during the pandemic. In addition, the committee confirmed that joint work remains under way to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the Sewel Convention. The next IMSC meeting is scheduled for summer or early autumn 2026, and the Northern Ireland Executive will chair the session.

First-Tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber President, Judge Alison McKenna, has made directions following an application from the Information Commissioner and in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the temporary closure of the Information Commissioner’s Office. Under the directions, all proceedings under section 48 of the Data Protection Act 1998, section 162 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and section 57 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are stayed for a period of 28 days from 1 April 2020. Parties to any proceedings of the Tribunal may apply with reasons and on notice to the Information Commissioner for the amendment, suspension or setting aside of these directions. The directions shall be reviewed after 28 days.

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not maintained and is for background information only. STOP PRESS (16/7/21): Legislation has been introduced to initiate Step 4 of the Roadmap. The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps etc) (England) (Revocation and Amendment) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/848, which come into effect at 11.55 on 18 July 2021 revoke various regulations including in relation to limitations on the numbers of people gathering indoors and outdoors, social distancing, the wearing of face coverings and collecting contact details. See: LNB News 16/07/2021 22. STOP PRESS (15/7/21): The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published Working safely during coronavirus: guidance from Step 4 on 14 July 2021. The previous 14 guides have been condensed into six new guides that will apply from 19 July. These reflect that all businesses can open and the government is no longer instructing people to work from home, social distancing will no longer apply (although employers should mitigate the risk by reducing the number of people workers come into contact

This week's edition of Corporate Crime weekly highlights includes analysis of the Law Commission’s report recommending the abolition of the historic civil/criminal contempt divide and the reform of the current law of contempt, of the government’s new anti-corruption strategy aimed at tackling bribery, money laundering and insider threats, and of the first wave of enforcement action by the CMA under the new consumer protection regime introduced by the DMCCA 2024. Also included is news of OTSI’s published report on its first year of activity emphasising its role in both enforcement and prevention, of the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner’s independent report highlighting that pandemic support schemes exposed the public purse to significant losses in fraud and error, and of enforcement action taken by the CQC against a care provider for failing to protect a resident from harm. All this, and more, in this week’s Corporate Crime highlights.

The Cabinet Office has published an implementation update detailing progress across ten civil emergency preparedness recommendations from the coronavirus (COVID-19) Inquiry's Module 1 report. The update confirms that two recommendations have been closed. Key developments include the publication of the updated Central Government Concept of Operations for Emergency Response and Recovery (the Amber Book) in April 2025, and a revised National Risk Register released in January 2025, which aligns with the Cabinet Office's new dynamic assessment model. The update also highlights the planned Exercise PEGASUS, a UK-wide pandemic response exercise scheduled to take place between September and November 2025, and the launch of the UK Resilience Academy (UKRA) in April 2025 to strengthen emergency preparedness capabilities. From April 2026, the Cabinet Office will establish expert panels through the UKRA to scrutinise whole-system civil emergency planning.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published its updated guidance on operating principles for night shelters, effective from 3 January 2025. The revised document reflects evolving best practices in supporting rough sleepers, incorporating lessons learned from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Key updates include a continued emphasis on providing single room accommodation where feasible, whilst acknowledging that communal models may be necessary in certain circumstances. The guidance outlines public health principles for shelter operations, including ventilation, hygiene practices and vaccination support. It also stresses the importance of partnership working with local authorities and health services and provides recommendations for maintaining high-quality shelter provision with a focus on outcomes and strong governance.