Law360, London: NatWest's investment banking arm won its claim that a Dutch mortgage company owed it €155m stemming from several swaps transactions, after a London court ruled on 15 January 2025 that this was consistent with the 'objective commercial purpose' of the agreements.

The club of pension funds, representing trustees, sponsors and members.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report looking at the Home Office's management of the Skilled Worker visa route, in particular at how entry requirements have adjusted to government policy changes and economic needs, and how effectively it monitors and manages performance of the system. The report draws out some key facts and statistics about the route, notes significant recent increases in applications and other trends, and covers performance metrics, compliance issues, and recommendations for improvement. A summary of its main findings and recommendations is below.

PI & Clinical Negligence analysis: The National Audit Office (NAO) published its report on the Costs of Clinical Negligence in October 2025. The report followed concerns raised by the Public Accounts Committee in May 2025 that there was a lack of plans to address the cost of clinical negligence claims, with liabilities standing at £60bn as of March 2025. This article provides an overview of the NAO report and examines its implications for the future handling of clinical negligence cases. The author, Ian Cohen, acted for clinical negligence claimants for over 30 years until March 2022, when he founded The Cohen Consultancy Limited. On behalf of The Cohen Consultancy, Ian Cohen gave evidence to the NAO as part of its fact‑finding.

The designated competition authority within each EU member mtate which has the legal powers to enforce Articles 101 and 102 TFEU alongside the EU Commission.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) obtained a £1.13m Account Freezing Order on 9 January 2020 at Westminster Magistrates Court, as part of an investigation into Leeds businessman, Mansoor Mahmood Hussain, who is suspected to have links to serious organised criminals. The order concerns an account connected to Mr Hussain’s company, 500 M Limited. In July 2019, an Unexplained Wealth Order was granted in relation to eight properties in the UK, all purchased by Mansoor Hussain. The NCA believes money in the account, as well as property in his name, was derived from the supply of firearms, armed robberies and drug trafficking.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has successfully prosecuted three individuals for operating a website that facilitated fraud by circumventing banking anti-fraud measures. Callum Picari, Vijayasidhurshan Vijayanathan, and Aza Siddeeque ran www.OTP.Agency, which provided criminals with tools to bypass multifactor authentication on online banking platforms. The service, which targeted over 12,500 members of the public with more than 65,000 spoof calls, offered various subscription plans to access fraudulent services. Picari, the primary operator, received two years and eight months imprisonment, while Vijayanathan and Siddeeque were given community orders. The NCA has initiated confiscation proceedings against Picari, demonstrating a robust approach to combating cyber-enabled fraud and its facilitators.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived is not maintained. Title Directive 2001/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutantsLatest consolidated version—July 2013 Entry into Force 27 November 2001 Transposition Deadline 26 November 2002 Amendments See document information for details of all amendments Directive (EU) 2016/2284 Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC (revised NEC Directive).The revised NEC Directive EU 2016/2284, which entered into force on 31 December 2016, repeals and replaces NEC Directive 2001/81/EC with effect from 1 July 2018. The revised NEC Directive ensures that the emission ceilings for 2010 set out in the NEC Directive 2001/81/EC shall apply until 2020 and also includes new emission levels up to 2030, including for the additional pollutant of particulate matter. Implementing legislation in England and Wales The National Emission Ceilings Regulations

The current name for the former Personal Accounts, and even more former National Pension Savings System (NPSS), which are intended to provide a workplace pension arrangement for that half of the population not a member of such a scheme.

National Grid has published a press release, announcing that the methane emissions performance of the Grain LNG terminal’s operations has been verified by the MiQ, the global leader in methane emissions measurement and certification. Grain LNG has been graded a ‘B’ by the MiQ, making it the first LNG terminal globally and the first facility outside of North America to receive this accreditation. This certification will enable buyers of LNG to select cargoes based their methane emissions profile, facilitated by the third-party audited verification of emissions at Grain LNG.

National Grid has announced the commencement of construction in Yorkshire on Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2). EGL2 is a £4.3bn, 525kV, 2GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea transmission cable from Peterhead in Scotland to Drax in England. It is being delivered as a joint venture by National Grid Electricity Transmission and SSEN Transmission. This will be the longest HVDC cable in the UK and the largest electricity transmission project, providing enough electricity to power two million UK homes. The project is expected to be operational by 2029.

The National Grid has announced a strategic partnership between the National Grid’s Distribution System Operator (DSO) and Electron, to increase the volume and value of flexibility for systems operators and flexibility service providers (FSPs) by enabling market interoperability. Electron will integrate its flexibility market platform, ElectronConnect, with the DSO’s Market Gateway, giving FSPs greater choice over how they access and participate in flexibility on the electricity distribution network. The partnership also aims to lower barriers to entry and increase market participation.