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Tristan Kirk

@kirkkorner.bsky.social
5.1K followers 1.8K following 457 posts

Courts Editor for the Press Association

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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
A WFH magistrate dialled in 'for years' to an English court to dish out justice Problem is, he was at home in Portugal The court legal adviser who complained about the set-up is now suing the Ministry of Justice, saying he was sacked for whistleblowing www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/2610517...
readingchronicle.co.uk
Magistrate dialled into Reading court case from Portugal
A court official who says he was sacked for whistleblowing about a magistrate dishing out justice for Reading from Portugal is suing the Ministry of…
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
The #SingleJusticeProcedure remains resolutely broken This is my story of a pensioner, 86, being convicted for a typo on her car insurance forms Government consulted, judges are auditing, a committee is assessing Meanwhile, things like this keep happening www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
mirror.co.uk
Woman, 86, convicted after making one-letter mistake on insurance
She received a letter from the DVLA saying she was being criminally prosecuted for keeping a vehicle without insurance
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Child rape trial delayed after a plug explodes under the prosecutor's bench Sparks flying, strong smell of burning, a lawyer lucky not to have been electrocuted But in a sign of how we simply cope with terrible court decay, the prosecutor took a minute, moved along the bench & got on with case prep
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Judge: "Jury service is a really vital aspect of democracy in this country, that serious cases in the Crown Court are tried by members of the public prepared to give up their time and sit in judgement of their fellow citizens. "It's a pretty awesome responsibility."
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
New Bar Council chair Kirsty Brimelow KC uses her inaugural speech to call for Single Justice Procedure reform "No doubt the SJP offends fundamental principles of fairness...issuing fines to the most vulnerable people in circumstances where they should not be prosecuted."
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Monday morning, the van from HMP Wormwood Scrubs hasn't arrived so the 11am sentence is delayed Lawyers for a defendant accused of rape can't get into the cells to see him, so the 12pm trial will be delayed And lawyers are complaining about how long it took to get into the building this morning
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Three years ago, a scandal broke about energy companies & forced prepayment meters The response to that scandal is disturbing Magistrates now approve applications for warrants that they've never seen And they do almost all this in secret My PA report today: www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news...
walesonline.co.uk
Energy pre-payment meter update as 'secret court hearings' continue
The Chief Magistrate is reviewing how warrants are being issued
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Bedbound disabled woman struggling after cancer death of husband faces TV Licence prosecution #SingleJusticeProcedure www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...
standard.co.uk
Bedbound disabled woman faces TV Licence prosecution
TV Licensing brought the prosecution against the woman after noting she is disabled and has mental health struggles
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Today is my final day as the Standard's Courts Correspondent After a decade, it's time for a new challenge I'll continue to cover the courts & remain obsessed with open justice The joy of this job has been working with very talented & hard-working people who I will miss a lot
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Disturbing findings from a year-long @thelondonstandard.bsky.social investigation - Magistrates routinely sit in secret to approve utility warrants - They don't even look at most applications - Rule breaches aren't investigated Chief Magistrate looking into this www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/magi...
standard.co.uk
Fresh fury over secret courts allowing energy firms break into homes
The Chief Magistrate is investigating after concerns about the utility warrant system were uncovered by The Standard
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Empty docks, shuttered courtrooms, missing evidence - The real reasons for London’s crippling court delays My long read for @thelondonstandard.bsky.social www.standard.co.uk/news/london/...
standard.co.uk
Revealed: The real reason for London’s crippling court delays
Labour is bringing the axe down on jury trials, but people in court tell a different story of where the chronic delays come from
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
A mugger who spent a week robbing people on the Tube is in the dock to be sentenced Judge is here, lawyers are here, police are here, probation is here. I'm here But the interpreter is not here Adjourned to Jan That's actual delay in the justice system Someone should fix it
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Beware fast-track justice. This is what it does The mum is bounced around, getting no help or answers, then just enters a guilty plea for her distressed autistic teenage son to get it over with www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/a...
standard.co.uk
Harsh justice: Autistic teen convicted of not insuring moped he didn't use
The boy’s mother told the court she is “deeply disappointed” at his treatment
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Bedbound pensioner, 84, gets criminal conviction over car insurance It's a harsh illustration of the broken justice system When will MPs step up and fix it? www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p...
standard.co.uk
Bedbound pensioner, 84, convicted of not insuring car she'll never use again
An 84-year-old woman who is bedbound and reliant on daily care has been convicted of a driving offence after failing to insure a car she will never drive again
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
A pensioner with dementia gets a criminal conviction over an unpaid TV Licence This one is pretty heartbreaking The #SingleJusticeProcedure is broken www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p...
standard.co.uk
Pensioner with dementia convicted over unpaid TV Licence bill
Ailing pensioners, people with mental health struggles, grieving families and children have all been caught up in the Single Justice Procedure scandal
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Teenager prosecuted over £1.67 in unpaid tax on a car. A criminal conviction for an offence that happened before she knew she even owned a car. Infuriating that this kind of thing is still happening Labour has failed to fix the #SingleJusticeProcedure www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...
standard.co.uk
Teenager convicted over £1.67 unpaid tax bill for 18th birthday gift
The prosecution of the teenager happened in the controversial Single Justice Procedure
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Ex-Reform UK leader in Wales jailed for ten-and-a-half years for taking Russian bribes www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/r...
standard.co.uk
Ex-Reform UK leader in Wales jailed at Old Bailey over Russia bribes
Nathan Gill admitted taking bribes to make pro-Russia statements in the European Parliament
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Earl Spencer stalker posed as BBC podcaster in 'fixated' pursuit of the aristocrat and his son www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/earl...
standard.co.uk
Earl Spencer stalker who posed as BBC podcaster handed court ban
Earl Spencer told the court how he was ambushed by Michelle Akpata at a book signing
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Always a delight to get an invite from @quietriotpod.bsky.social Problems in justice go beyond crumbling courts to the disintegration of the fabric of the system And politicians aren't being honest with the public about how to fix it Have a listen!
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Excl: Earl Spencer came face-to-face with a suspected stalker who was "fixated" on meeting his son www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/earl...
standard.co.uk
Earl Spencer's shock after coming face to face with 'stalker'
Exclusive: Michelle Akpata spent months bombarded the Spencer family and staff at their Althorp estate with requests for a meeting with Viscount Louis Spencer
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Losing a loved one is hard. Coping with grief is harder for some than others. In a compassionate society, a grieving person with mental health struggles who hasn’t paid a household bill would be helped, not convicted of a crime www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...
standard.co.uk
Grieving daughter convicted over unpaid TV Licence
A grieving woman with mental health problems is the latest case to emerge from the Single Justice Procedure
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
I was in court today for a hearing of the prisoner accidentally set free from jail. He wasn't there. It is a case study in the terrible communication between prisons, courts, and the immigration system. Absolutely atrocious, but equally not that surprising www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p...
standard.co.uk
Accidentally freed prisoner was given bail from immigration centre
Judge Rosa Dean ordered prosecutors to provide more information on Brahim Kaddour-Cherif
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
The Criminal Justice System in this country is fundamentally broken. Trials will soon be set in 2030, victims are losing faith, prisons are full, and crimes may be going unsolved My long read for this week's @thelondonstandard.bsky.social www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/b...
standard.co.uk
Tipping Point: Inside Britain's broken justice system
Trials delayed until 2030, victims and defendants’ lives on hold, buildings without running water. Courts correspondent Tristan Kirk reports on a shameful decline
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
I'm writing today about the broken Criminal Justice System For a boost, I bought a coffee from the Old Bailey's canteen, which was downgraded recently to a vending machine The machine promised an overpriced latte, then spewed out a black coffee with no milk Is this the metaphor my article needs?
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
More trouble for HMP Chelmsford, the prison which accidentally set free a sex offender: One of the inmates died when staff filed to spot he was a known suicide risk www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/hmp-...
standard.co.uk
Inmate at scandal-hit jail died after staff didn't spot suicide risk
An inmate at scandal-hit HMP Chelmsford died despite being a known suicide risk
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Politicians have simplistic solutions to crime - lock everyone up, and for longer They then have a casual indifference to what happens once the cell door is shut This weekend's crisis over the prisoner wrongly released is symptomatic of a broken system www.standard.co.uk/comment/sex-...
standard.co.uk
Sex offender's accidental release shows the mess our prisons are in
Our prisons are failing and have been for some time. This latest episode should be a wake-up call
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
You've being summonsed to court, you believe it is wrong/malicious, and a suspected abuse of the justice system The court's answer: Come to court to argue your case, face the person who summonsed you anyway, and pay £300 for the privilege The county courts in this country have some issues....
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Commons Speaker made extraordinary intervention so that Labour minister didn't have to go face-to-face in court with a trans woman she says was harassing her www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/c...
standard.co.uk
Speaker took rare step to stop government minister facing court
Ellie Reeves gave evidence from behind a screen at Westminster Magistrates’ Court
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Pensioner with dementia living in a care home is convicted in our broken court system over a £43 car bill www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p... I’ve been writing versions of this story for more than two years now. If politicians were interested in helping vulnerable people, they would act
standard.co.uk
Fast-track court scandal: Pensioner with dementia convicted over £43 car bill
The pensioner’s conviction is the latest scandal to emerge from the controversial Single Justice Procedure
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
A court has requested a Latin interpreter for today's sentencing hearing LATIN (AMERICAN) INTERPRETER REQUIRED Luckily they added (American), and someone who speaks Spanish has turned up. Otherwise the interpreter might have spent the day translating legal asides, but not much else
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Baby P's mother Tracey Connelly says 'I was a crap mum' in latest bid for release from jail A big understatement, you might think This hearing was a good example of why open justice is important. Public Parole Board hearings are a great innovation www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/b...
standard.co.uk
Baby P's mother Tracey Connelly says 'I was a crap mum' as she bids for release
Tracey Connelly speaks publicly for the first time since her conviction over death of her child Peter who suffered horrific abuse
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
The Ministry of Justice has been convicted of a crime and fined £1,000, in a closed-door court hearing the department itself was apparently not aware was happening www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/m...
standard.co.uk
Ministry of Justice handed criminal conviction in fast-track courts
The Ministry of Justice is now seeking to overturn its conviction
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
City of London police officer who posted sexist, ableist, and homophobic comments on Twitter is allowed to keep job www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/c...
standard.co.uk
Officer tweeted crude jokes about woman’s ‘boobs’ and Prince Andrew
PC Andrew Jacks’ private X account discovered during re-vetting of all City of London Police staff working in the Square Mile
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Reposted by Tristan Kirk
Dr Rashmee Roshan Lall @rashmee.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Open Justice. Why are these journalists fighting secrecy in the courts? Join @sanchia7.bsky.social & @kirkkorner.bsky.social at @goldsmithsuol.bsky.social @mediacomgold.bsky.social for a revealing discussion. Reception afterwards. All welcome. Details below 👇🏽https://www.gold.ac.uk/calendar/?id=15603
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Watch: Police officer guilty of assault for grabbing teenage fare dodger by her neck www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p...
standard.co.uk
Police officer who tackled teenage fare dodger by grabbing her NECK guilty of assault
PC Adrian Young grabbed a teenage fare dodger around the neck at a London train station
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
MPs demand answers as to why the Chinese 'spies' case collapsed Wish them the best, but being realistic, CPS pulls the plug on cases & often offers no explanation Something vague about evidential test not met, maybe These two have been treated no differently. www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/c...
standard.co.uk
Senior MPs demand answers on collapsed 'Chinese spies' case
Tory and Labour MPs have demanded an explanation from the Director of Public Prosecutions
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Turn up to court, judge starts to hear the case I’m interested in, staff have forgotten to unlock the doors. Been a while since this happened… #SecretJustice
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
We have a system of justice which is secretive, known to be flawed and unfair, and week-by-week lands very vulnerable people with harsh criminal convictions And we have a government which is content for that to keep happening www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...
standard.co.uk
Teen convicted over no car insurance while battling for life in hospital
The teenager’s harsh criminal conviction came through the controversial Single Justice Procedure
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Teenagers charged over TfL cyber attack www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...
standard.co.uk
Teenagers charged with TfL cyber attack costing London millions of pounds
The two teenagers – named as Thalha Jubair, 19, from Tower Hamlets, and Owen Flowers, 18, from Walsall, West Midlands – were appearing on Thursday afternoon at Westminster magistrates’ court
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon sentenced to 14 years in prison each for killing their baby while on the run www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/c...
standard.co.uk
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon jailed for killing baby daughter while on the run
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were convicted of the gross negligence manslaughter of their baby daughter
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
TV presenter Jay Blades gets an apology from a judge, as his trial on rape charges is set for 2027. "It's not a proper justice system....", admits the judge www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/j...
standard.co.uk
The Repair Shop's Jay Blades denies rape charges in latest court appearance
Jay Blades, 55, was charged last month with two counts of rape
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Dutch football legend Edgar Davids' art collection raided by fraudster www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/e...
standard.co.uk
Edgar Davids fell victim to fraudster who raided art collection
Edgar Davids realised his art collection had been plundered after receiving an Instagram message from a man who had bought one of the pieces
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
An offer to plead guilty to ABH charges is sent to the CPS on September 2 Six days later, it's the plea hearing in court And the case is then adjourned for a week, because no one actively reads emails sent to that account Efforts bringing defendant to court, lawyers & judge in court Total waste
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Got an FOI back from the Ministry of Justice It came with a curious addition - a couple of (irrelevant) lines from an MoJ press release Either press officers are intervening in FOIs to insert quotes Or the FOI team is doing it of their own volition Neither option is good
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Comedy writer and activist Graham Linehan faces trial today over claims he harassed a trans activist online and broke a mobile phone during a confrontation www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/g...
standard.co.uk
Graham Linehan faces trial over trans 'harassment' charge
Linehan denied harassing a trans activist and damaging a mobile phone in a women’s conference confrontation
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
TV licence conviction for 'homeless' man caring for disabled and partially sighted friend #SingleJusticeProcedure www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...
standard.co.uk
TV licence conviction for 'homeless' man caring for ailing friend
The case was dealt with under the notorious Single Justice Procedure
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
'Shame' of judge who had sex in Chambers www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/judg...
standard.co.uk
Judge who had sex with partner in Chambers admits 'shame'
Recorder Kirtley faced disciplinary proceedings after he was reported by his former partner
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Breaking news on the Epping hotel: A High Court judge has granted an injunction on the Bell Hotel, which will see it cleared of asylum seekers Victory for the local council www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/eppi...
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
In-depth: The 'Jekyll and Hyde' celebrity osteopath jailed for spying on women in their own homes www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...
standard.co.uk
'Jekyll and Hyde': Celebrity osteopath Torben Hersborg's dark secret revealed
Renowned osteopath hid his dark secret for years as he slipped under the radar to target thousands of women
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Tristan Kirk @kirkkorner.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
It's still happening A criminal conviction for a mentally ill man who didn't pay car insurance when hospitalised and in crisis #SingleJusticeProcedure www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/d...
standard.co.uk
Mentally ill man convicted for not paying car insurance when in crisis
The Single Justice Procedure has become synonymous with cost-cutting and injustice
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