Law Weblog

Lords speaker – getting closer

Peers in the House of Lords voted to set a salary of £101,668 pa plus pension and expenses for the new post of speaker in anticipation of his/her appointment on June 30.

The position has for centuries been held by Lord Chancellor. There was a conflict of interests as government cabinet minister as well as head of the judiciary. In April the Lord Chancellor lost his role as head of the judiciary when the Lord Chief Justice took over.

The speaker will have a five year two-term limit. The Speaker of the House of Commons Michel Martin is paid £74,902 on top of his £59,095 salary as a Member of Parliament 

Conspiracy defined

In R v Saik [2006] HL the defendant suspected but did not actually “know” that the money he was laundering was the proceeds of crime, he was therefore not guilty. In this case Lord Nicholls explains and clarifies the law of conspiracy and this now must be seen as the leading case on the subject.