England’s chief prosecutor has warned that the extradition of criminal suspects could be seriously hampered unless existing arrangements are replicated after Brexit.

Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, said that pulling out of the European arrest warrant (EAW) could add significant delays in the extradition of criminals as well as increasing costs.

It was “absolutely vital” that similar arrangements continued after Brexit or the process could be slowed down from days and weeks to months and years, she told peers. “It’s three times faster to use an EAW and it is four times less expensive for us to be able to do that as well,” Saunders told the Lords’ EU home affairs sub-committee.

She said that the package of justice-enforcement measures enjoyed with the EU was of great benefit as “pretty much all” organiased crime had an international element, with people traffickers and drug smugglers using routes through Europe. “A substantial majority of our cases have some sort of international connection. The crime which we prosecute tends to be more and more global,” Saunders said.

However, there were other equally important measures such as the use of Eurojust, an EU agency that facilitates cooperation on crime, where the UK had 31 joint investigations pending. “There are a package of measures we think are really important and not just the obvious ones such as the European arrest warrant, which is absolutely vital and which we make a great deal of use of,” she added.

The question was whether similar arrangements could be negotiated with all the different EU states, she said. On extradition, it was not just a matter of reverting to the arrangements before the EAW took effect as some countries would no longer have that legislation in place and there would have to be new legislation.

Sir Philip Green and his wife face a demand for hundreds of millions of pounds to fill the BHS pensions hole after the regulator took unprecedented action, The Times reports this morning.

Talks between the retail tycoon and the Pensions Regulator broke down before a deal could be reached to rescue the retailer’s pension scheme and the retirement plans of 20,000 members.

The watchdog began formal enforcement action as a result. It issued warning notices, each more than 300 pages long, to Sir Philip and Dominic Chappell, the former bankrupt entrepreneur who bought BHS for £1 with his consortium Retail Acquisitions.

Taveta Investments would also be pursued by the regulator, it said. Sir Philip’s wife, Tina, is the ultimate controlling party behind Taveta Investments, the Jersey-based company that owns Arcadia, the group whose stores include Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins. It was taken over by Sir Philip in 2002.

See: We're all pensioners now -- Pensions focus in Brief Premium

Employed barristers earn average annual salaries of nearly £70,000, a comprehensive analysis of the sector reveals today.

Remuneration at private companies outstripped average pay for barristers at law firms. The survey showed that the average salary for an employed barrister at a corporate legal department was just short of £91,000, about £9,000 more than the average figure for those employed by solicitors.

The average pay for barristers employed in Whitehall was also significantly better than the average earnings of those employed as prosecutors. The average for barristers at the Government Legal Service was slightly more than £65,500, while average annual pay for those at the Crown Prosecution Service was just shy of £57,400.

The figures – released by the Bar Council of England and Wales – showed that 16 per cent of employed barristers had gross salaries of more than £100,000, while 6 per cent logged salaries of more than £150,000.

The researchers said that none of the respondents reported an annual salary of less than £20,000 among employed barristers. However, the council pointed out that some respondents did not supply salary details.

The report also found that respondents continued to feel that the self-employed bar took the view that employed barristers are less capable. In addition, the researchers said, “several participants observed that their role as an employed barrister is often confused with that of a solicitor, and that the title creates a mistaken belief that the barrister is no longer practising, or is less qualified to undertake particular work”.

Senior barristers at Matrix Chambers have gone to ground amid suggestions that they have launched an internal investigation into the behaviour of Ben Emmerson, QC, during his time as counsel to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

BBC Two’s Newsnight programme reported on Monday that Emmerson – who resigned from the inquiry several weeks ago – was the subject of an allegation of sexual.

However, Lindsay Scott, the chambers’ chief executive, told The Brief that Matrix had “no comment at this time”. Neither Helen Mountfield, QC, joint head of chambers,nor Hugh Southey, QC, responded to requests for comment.

Emmerson has denied any instance of sexual assault, bullying or other misconduct.

Lisa Nandy, the Labour MP for Wigan, raised the issue in parliament, telling the House of Commons: “Newsnight reported serious allegations of sexual assault by the most senior lawyer on the child abuse inquiry, Ben Emmerson, QC. The disclosure was made in early September, but no action was taken until 29 September. The Home Secretary’s predecessor hand-picked Mr Emmerson for the inquiry. Can she therefore tell us why it took so long for action to be taken, why the investigation into his conduct was dropped, and why he is still reportedly being paid £1,700 a day even though he no longer works on the inquiry?"

The latest twist in the saga involving the benighted investigation came as it emerged that the inquiry had lost yet another lawyer. Toby Fisher, a public law junior of eight years’ call, was reported to have quit after letting it be known in August that he wanted to leave the inquiry.

Prosecutors must improve their correspondence with defence lawyers before hearings, the watchdog overseeing criminal processes said yesterday.

Inspectors accused the Crown Prosecution Service of having “inconsistent” pre-hearing engagement with defence lawyers, saying that there was a need for “significant improvement” if recently imposed case management systems were not to fail.

Officials for Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate also called on prosecutors to engage with digital case management systems. In the report, inspectors said that after a first hearing and before plea and trial preparation hearings, prosecutors should “promptly” add the prosecution bundle of evidence, the indictment and the pre-trial hearing form to the digital case system.

Inspectors said that they found “that all of these aspects need to be carried out more efficiently”.

They also told the CPS that cases should be reviewed within 72 hours of the first hearing, pointing at figures showing that currently 56.5 per cent received a “proper and proportionate” review with a further 28.8 per cent having received “some sort of review”. Only 13 per cent were reviewed within the prescribed time.

A CPS spokesman said that the inspection took place within a few months of implementation of the beefed up case management initiative. “We will study the findings carefully as we continue to make further improvements,” he said.

In today’s Times Law …

• Why Heathrow plan faces a bumpy ride
  
• Are magistrates and local justice under threat?
  
• Rewards to criminals – should charities pay?
  
• Cultural property bill threatens London art market, says Edward Garnier, QC
  
• Art disputes – the rise of mediation
  
• Who owns Mariah Carey’s ring now wedding is off
  
• Lawyer of the week: Robin Allen, QC
  
• Edward Fennell’s law diary: Freshly baked Brit
  
• Gary Slapper’s weird cases: How to blow your cover
  
• Law reports: Family life precarious

Elsewhere …

• Hillsborough legal bill topped £100m -- The Times
• Diesel drivers fear £10 city centre bill after High Court orders government to clean up -- Daily Telegraph
• Norton Rose Fulbright sued by London associate – The Lawyer
  
• City boss sues for £1m over claims of 'unrelenting' homophobic abuse – London Evening Standard
  
• Lawyer hanged herself after arrest for drink-driving -- The Times
• Mansfield isn’t a fighter for truth and justice, argues David Aaronovitch -- The Times