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Double Jeopardy - UK Law and Politics

Double Jeopardy - UK Law and Politics

By: Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC
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 Covering the critical intersections of law and politics in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain’s legal and political present and future. -What happens when law and politics collide? -How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? -What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? -And who really holds power in Britain’s legal and political system? Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays. Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, human rights and the British Constitution. Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, and a leading voice on civil liberties. Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades. Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape. Episode topics have included: -How UK politics is shaping the legal system and British politics explained – from judicial review of government decisions to the erosion of civil liberties. -The toxic confrontation between gender critical feminists and trans activists over what defines a woman in law. -The extent to which special measures intended to support vulnerable witnesses are making it harder to prosecute rape and other serious sexual offences. -Inside the most controversial legal cases – including human rights battles over immigration law, terrorism and national security, the Assisted Dying Bill and the gross miscarriage of justice in the Andrew Malkinson case. -Britain’s never ending criminal justice crisis – from overfilled prisons to policing policies that test the rule of law, threats to jury trial and the massive backlog of Crown Court cases. -Lucy Letby’s convictions, the media’s role, the Court of Appeal’s detailed rejection of her appeal and the fresh evidence which may demonstrate fundamental problems with the safety of the convictions. Episodes feature discussions with the most influential voices in law, politics, and justice, including: -Professor Kathleen Stock – leading gender critical feminist and Professor of Philosophy hounded out of her job at Sussex University discusses science, gender and the importance of free speech. -Joshua Rozenberg - Legal commentator and broadcaster reviewed major legal and political developments, including judicial independence, rule of law, and shifts in UK legal norms. -Baroness Brenda Hale – Former President of the Supreme Court discuss human rights, politicians and populist attacks on the judiciary. -Danny Shaw - Former BBC Home Affairs Correspondent explored the government’s Crime and Policing Bill, political motives behind law-and-order messaging, and public trust in the justice system. -Melanie Phillips – Times columnist and public commentator discussed the developing constitutional crisis in Israel arising from the Netenyahu government’s plans to trim the powers and role of Israel’s Supreme Court. If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you’ll enjoy Double Jeopardy. If you would like to sponsor the podcast, contact us at info@thepodcastguys.co.uk. Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Prisons in the UK: Violence, Drugs, Squalor, and a Glimmer of Hope

    Prisons in the UK: Violence, Drugs, Squalor, and a Glimmer of Hope
    Apr 1 2026
    On 19th March 2026 the Chief Inspector of Prisons issued an Urgent Notification placing Woodhill Prison into special measures (https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/hmp-woodhill-urgent-notification-2/). On the same day he published a truly shocking report into HMP Swaleside (https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/hmp-swaleside-5/), another jail in the long-term high secure estate holding some of the most dangerous men in the country. Coming less than 18 months after an Urgent Notification was issued at HMP Manchester, the Inspectorate’s findings reveal a disturbing, indeed shameful, picture of systemic failure and loss of control in UK prisons. To discuss the role and work of the Prisons Inspectorate and his recent Reports into Woodhill, Swaleside and Manchester prisons, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, for a wide-ranging discussion on the truly dreadful state of our prison system. How is it possible that in supposedly high-secure prisons, “very high levels of violence affect every aspect of prison life” and “drug taking is rife with drones regularly bringing contraband, including knives, into the jail” as the Swaleside Report found? What does it say about the ability of the Ministry of Justice to manage our prison system that wings at Swaleside are “filthy with too many cells in a poor state of repair with widespread graffiti, fire damage, broken furniture, dilapidated flooring and showers that are dirty, mouldy and poorly maintained”? Why is it impossible for the Prison Service to recruit and retain experienced staff to manage the volatile and complex population of the long term estate? With these prisons failing in their core functions as training prisons, with too many men with nothing to do all day and activities that might improve employability on release having ceased due to cuts to education provision, what hope is there that any prisoner will emerge better than when they began their sentence? -- Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.  What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.  Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.  Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law.  Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape.  If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • A World Without Law: Operation Epic Disaster

    A World Without Law: Operation Epic Disaster
    Mar 25 2026
    The 2026 US/Israel war against Iran is a rapidly evolving, multi-front war. What started as a massive joint air campaign (Operation Epic Fury) and involved the execution of Ayatollah Ali Khameini and some 40 other senior Iranian leaders and key military commanders has expanded into a regional confrontation involving cyber warfare, energy blockades and direct missile exchanges without any current sign of an uprising by the Iranian people to topple the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Hormuz Straits remain effectively closed to Western-aligned commercial traffic, creating a looming crisis of global economic disaster. Following their discussion with Shadow Attorney General Lord Woolfson KC in the 4th March episode on the legality of the initial US/Israel attack on 28th February 2026, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined once again by LSE Professor of International Law, Devika Hovell, to continue the debate on the international law issues generated by the Iran War. What are the international law rules which govern the use of force by States as established in the 1837 Caroline Criteria and the UN Charter? To what extent have those rules developed to reflect the reality of a nuclear threat represented by a rogue State actor such as Iran? Has the “imminence” test inherent in the justification for anticipatory self-defence developed so as to permit an attack from the moment a hostile actor acquires the capability to destroy you using nuclear weapons rather than when they actually push the button? And is Trump’s threat to obliterate Iran’s power generation system a threat to commit a war crime, with obvious implications for the UK’s continued willingness to permit the US to use UK bases for bombing raids on Iran? -- Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.  What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.  Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.  Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law.  Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape.  If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    47 mins
  • Listeners’ Postbag: Iran, Juries, and Too Many Lawyers

    Listeners’ Postbag: Iran, Juries, and Too Many Lawyers
    Mar 18 2026
    With world events continuing to dominate the domestic news agenda, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC respond to a range of listeners’ questions generated by recent episodes. What explains the huge gap which has emerged between the broad consensus among international lawyers that the US/Israel attack on Iran was illegal and the mild or even supportive reactions given to Operation Epic Fury by many States? Ken and Tim respond to the many questions from listeners who disagreed with Shadow AG Lord Wolfson KC’s confident assertion that the attack was both legally and morally justified and debate the thoughtful article by Professors Yuval Shany and Amichai Cohen which argues that the move towards the “illegal but legitimate” justification presents a grave challenge to the Rules Based International Order - https://www.justsecurity.org/133292/international-law-crossroads/ What is the legal basis for restricting public comments on the active police investigations into allegations of misconduct in public office by Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and how can such comments be said to prejudice an investigation as opposed to an actual trial? Has the UK become too much of a “lawyerly” society and to what extent does the culture of legalism, process and institutional caution hold back policy making and ultimately economic growth? Ken and Tim discuss the expansion of judicial review and the link to populist disillusion with the rule of law. Finally, the duo reflect on the Second Reading Vote on the Courts and Tribunals Bill and Ken questions why the Government hasn’t opted to extend the Scottish system, whereby it is the prosecutor fiscal who holds the exclusive power to determine mode of trial, to England and Wales. -- Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political controversies, prisons and sentencing, human rights law, current political events and the shifting landscape of justice and democracy. With in-depth discussions and influential guests, Double Jeopardy is the podcast that uncovers the forces shaping Britain's legal and political future.  What happens when politics and law collide? How do politics shape the law - and when does the law push back? What happens when judicial independence is tested, human rights come under attack, or freedom of expression is challenged? And who really holds power in Britain's legal and political system?  Get answers to questions like these weekly on Wednesdays.  Double Jeopardy is presented by Ken Macdonald KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Tim Owen KC, as they break down the legal and political issues in Britain. From high-profile legal cases to the evolving state of British democracy, Double Jeopardy offers expert legal commentary on the most pressing topics in UK law, politics, and human rights.  Ken Macdonald KC served as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008, shaping modern prosecutorial policy and advocating for the rule of law. He is a former Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, and a leading writer, commentator and broadcaster on politics and the rule of law.  Tim Owen KC has been involved in many of the most significant public, criminal and human rights law cases over the past four decades.  Both bring unparalleled experience from the frontline of Britain's legal and political landscape.  If you like The Rest Is Politics, Talking Politics, Law Pod UK and Today in Focus, you'll love Double Jeopardy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    44 mins
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