Violent crime has risen in England and Wales with “genuine but small increases” in murder and knife crime, according to latest figures, reports Richard Ford.

Gun crime, domestic burglary, vehicle offences and shoplifting recorded by police forces in the country were also up. Overall crime recorded by police rose by 8 per cent to 4.7 million instances in the year to the end of September, driven largely by a 22 per cent rise in violence against the person.

Statisticians said the police figures were affected by changes in the way officers recorded offences reported to them and that this accounted for some of the rise in violent crime. But they said that there had been a real increase in murders and knife crime.

Knife crime rose by 11 per cent to 30,000 offences including rises in attempted murder and threats to kill in which a knife or sharp instrument was used.

The majority of the 44 police forces in England and Wales recorded a rise in knife crime with the Metropolitan police in London accounting for 15 per cent of the overall increase.

Although some of the rise may be linked to better police recording practices, the Office for National Statistics said: “There has also been some indication, particularly in relation to more serious offences involving an injury to the victim, that the latest rise may represent a real change to the downward trend seen in recent years.”

The policing minister Brandon Lewis said: “Police reform is working and crimes traditionally measured by the survey have fallen by a third since 2010 to a record low, with over 370,000 fewer violent crimes a year.

“Crime is changing and the way it is measured needs to change too so that we can continue to protect families and communities from the biggest threats.”

Kenneth Noye, the renowned gangster and road-rage killer, launched a High Court battle yesterday to be moved to an open prison.

Noye, 69, was convicted of murder in April 2000 and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years. He stabbed Stephen Cameron, 21, an electrician, to death in a road-rage attack on the M25 in Kent in 1996. After the killing Noye went on the run and was arrested in Spain two years later.

In September 2015 the Parole Board declined to order his release but recommended that he be transferred to open conditions. The board’s recommendation was rejected by Michael Gove, who was justice secretary at the time.

The Press Association reports that a judge in London is now being asked to rule on whether Gove’s decision was “unlawful and irrational”.

Edward Fitzgerald, QC, of Doughty Street Chambers in London, appeared for Noye and told Mr Justice Lavender that the tariff had been served, and the “sole issue is the issue of risk”. The lawyer argued that “the secretary of state has failed to give proper or adequate weight to the recommendation of the Parole Board and is therefore unreasonable and contrary to law”.

Tom Weisselberg, QC, of Blackstone Chambers, appeared for the justice secretary and told the court that Gove’s decision not to transfer was based on “doubts as to the credibility of the claimant’s claims” that he had “changed his attitude to violence”, the “risk of absconding posed by the claimant’s links to Spain”, the “risk of violence linked to the claimant’s ego and desire to be in control”, and his “use of excessive violence”.

In 1985 Noye stabbed a police officer, John Fordham, ten times. A jury found him not guilty of murder or manslaughter on the ground of self-defence.

The family of Lord Janner, the former and now deceased Labour MP, have said they “deplore” the decision by the UK’s child abuse inquiry not to recognise that their father was never convicted of an offence “and died an innocent man”.

In a strongly worded 11-page statement issued to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the family, led by Daniel Janner, QC, of 187 Fleet Street chambers in London, described their father as “a person of the highest repute and integrity”.

The statement goes on to say: “There is a total failure by the inquiry to acknowledge our late father’s good character and legal status as innocent. This is compounded by a clear and total disregard for the possibility of him being falsely accused.

“The unavoidable starting point is that we deplore the inquiry’s failure to date to grant any acknowledgment of our late father’s innocence and good character which is the position in law.

“We are certain that our late father is the subject of serious false allegations by both men and women, driven by national ‘moral panic’ and exploitative compensation lawyers.”

A spokeswoman for the inquiry said that its “legal team agreed to meet this month with core participants and other interested parties about the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse involving the late Lord Janner of Braunstone, QC. We are not providing a running commentary on those meetings."

Daniel Janner, who specialises in criminal law, was called to the bar in 1980 and promoted to silk in 2002. The inquiry has been beset by difficulties since it was launched in 2015 by Theresa May, then home secretary. It has had four chairwomen in that time, with Alexis Jay succeeding Dame Lowell Goddard after the New Zealand judge resigned last August amid controversy over her leadership style and competency.

The inquiry has also lost several key members of its legal team. Earlier this month Brian Altman, QC, from 2 Bedford Row chambers in London, was appointed as its new counsel.

Solicitor chiefs were at odds again yesterday with regulators and the competition watchdog over proposals to make the profession more competitive and transparent with its fees.

Robert Bourns, president of the Law Society, the solicitors’ quasi-trade union, warned that the plans could create confusion among clients.

Last year the Competition and Markets Authority found that the legal services market needed improvement in terms of consumer access and competition but that it did not warrant an official full investigation. Nonetheless, it called for law firms to be much clearer and more transparent over the fee rates.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority welcomed the CMA’s findings and also called for greater flexibility in the market. However, speaking yesterday evening at a seminar on the CMA’s findings, organised by the London School of Economics, Bourns warned against deregulation leading to “confusion” for consumers.

He claimed that the SRA’s proposals could mean that some solicitors “would not be bound by client rules”, that some would not be obliged to have professional indemnity insurance and that they “would not provide access to the compensation fund” in instances of fraud or dishonesty.

Cracking down on limited partnerships could drive legitimate investors away from Scotland, senior lawyers have warned, reports Greig Cameron.

Partners at some of Scotland’s largest commercial law firms say the sector has little to fear over its conduct by an investigation into the potential criminal uses of the corporate structures.

But they warned that any significant changes could lead to revenue from advisory work going overseas.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced a review into limited partnerships earlier this week amid concerns that they are being used to conceal illegal activity such as money laundering. The unique legal nature of Scottish limited partnerships means that they form the centre of the investigation.

The Scottish version of the structures allows the holding of assets and borrowing of cash. That makes them different from similar structures in the UK’s other jurisdictions.

Many Scottish law firms advertise their expertise in setting up limited partnerships, which are used in a wide variety of legitimate ways, including for farming land tenancies, property investment, oil and gas exploration, pension funds and private equity vehicles.

Scott Kerr, a partner at Harper Macleod, also highlighted the potential impact on the business community in Scotland. “Given the wide and legitimate use to which limited partnerships are put,” he said, “and the consequent benefits to the Scottish economy in particular from the unique characteristics of a Scottish limited partnership, I would hope we could start celebrating these successes and benefits rather than emphasising the other uses to which they might sometimes be put.

“The problem is not the limited partnership, but the people who are its partners.”

A high-profile media lawyer who acted for News International during investigations into phone hacking at the News of the World has been cleared by a professional tribunal of misconduct.

Julian Pike, a partner at Farrer & Co, the one-time solicitors’ firm to the royal family, was cleared in a case in which it was alleged that he had advised News International to commission surveillance of lawyers acting for hacking claimants without proper justification. It was also alleged that he had instructed a private investigator to investigate the claimants' lawyers, again without proper justification.

In a ruling from the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal that has just been published, it was found that the allegations were not proved. The ruling follows a finding last August by the Bar’s disciplinary tribunal that Tom Crone, the former head of legal at the News of the World, was also cleared of professional misconduct.

Pike accepted that he had commissioned the investigator, but argued that he had legitimate reasons for doing so. He denied the surveillance allegation.

However, despite finding no misconduct, the SDT ordered that Pike bear £20,000 of the costs of the £100,000 investigation. Pike told The Brief: “I am obviously pleased that this matter is now behind me. As a litigator, while you may know what the right outcome should be, there is never any such guarantee. On this occasion, the right conclusion has been reached. However, it’s disappointing the process should take five years. Such delay should be unacceptable.

“The decision on costs can only be described as bizarre given the Tribunal made no criticism of me and found I did not bring the matter on myself. I have been advised that I have a very strong argument in favour of an appeal which is under consideration.”

KWM partners face watchdog after client files ‘left scattered across London offices’ – The Lawyer

Addleshaws settles £5m arbitration against former partner – Legal Business

Evening Standard comment: We must safeguard our legal system post-Brexit – London Evening Standard