The Government has tonight been defeated in the House of Lords on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill.

An amendment on the customs union supported by the Liberal Democrats, Crossbenchers, Labour, and Conservative peers has passed by 348 votes to 225.

In November 2017, I was appointed by the Federal Board of the Liberal Democrats as Special Investigation Counsel to conduct an investigation and produce a Report on the handling of sexual impropriety complaints within the Party.

I am pleased that, after a period of being embargoed, the report has now been published and you can access it here.

April already, so local government election campaigns are getting underway!

Thanks to all our candidates and their teams, out knocking on doors, putting up poster boards and preparing for getting out postal votes later this month ahead of polling day on 3 May.

If you haven’t got elections near you, please offer to help somewhere nearby – every pair of hands is vital, with plenty of different jobs to be done.

18 April 2018

Today in a coordination meeting organised by Eurojust, the Slovak prosecutors advanced their investigations into the murder of the Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in Slovakia in February 2018, thanks to the contribution of the Italian authorities. Eurojust has taken the initiative to facilitate the judicial cooperation process and the coordination of the operations. The Italian authorities’ support will enable the Slovak authorities to further assess all the investigative scenarios linked to the cross-border organised crime, accelerate the investigative work, and hopefully bring to justice the authors of such a massacre in a more expeditious manner. Eurojust and Europol will provide financial and logistical support to these activities.

Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust and National Member for Slovakia at Eurojust, said: ‘The murder of a journalist is unique in Slovakia’s history and has rightly drawn the attention far beyond our national borders. Eurojust stands ready to provide operational and practical support and make it possible for the national prosecutors concerned to broaden and deepen their efforts in a structured manner, drawing on the legal expertise and state-of-the-art facilities available here at Eurojust.’

18 April 2018

Today in a coordination meeting organised by Eurojust, the Slovak prosecutors advanced their investigations into the murder of the Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in Slovakia in February 2018, thanks to the contribution of the Italian authorities. Eurojust has taken the initiative to facilitate the judicial cooperation process and the coordination of the operations. The Italian authorities’ support will enable the Slovak authorities to further assess all the investigative scenarios linked to the cross-border organised crime, accelerate the investigative work, and hopefully bring to justice the authors of such a massacre in a more expeditious manner. Eurojust and Europol will provide financial and logistical support to these activities.

Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust and National Member for Slovakia at Eurojust, said: ‘The murder of a journalist is unique in Slovakia’s history and has rightly drawn the attention far beyond our national borders. Eurojust stands ready to provide operational and practical support and make it possible for the national prosecutors concerned to broaden and deepen their efforts in a structured manner, drawing on the legal expertise and state-of-the-art facilities available here at Eurojust.’