Double Jeopardy podcast episode on the Conversion Practices Bill, with Sarah Vine KC

[Xiaoxiong]

One of my favourite podcasts, Double Jeopardy, has a new episode on the Conversion Practices Bill with Sarah Vine KC as a guest. If you don't know the podcast, the two hosts are Tim Owen KC are Ken Macdonald KC who was DPP from 2003-08.

The episode itself is unapologetically lawyerly - it dives straight into the weeds, analysing the drafting of the bill pretty much word by word, as well as the legislative history of the whole thing - but then it opens up into consideration of equivalent pieces of legislation in other jurisdictions, and what the timetable is for the bill to proceed.

It's a pleasure to hear three very eminent KCs going through the bill's drafting so carefully, and then concluding that it's a complete mess. When you hear barristers describing legislative drafting as "extraordinary", "genuinely bizarre" and "quite worrying" you know it's really, really bad.

Highly recommended: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/double-jeopardy-uk-law-and-politics/id1633485236

Thanks OP was just looking for something to listen to.

Beyond this particular episode, I can really recommend the entire podcast - the episodes on the prision crisis and early release scheme are excellent, as well as analysing Lady Justice Thirwall's public inquiry findings into the Lucy Letby case. Their careful dissection of the sentencing remarks in the Fordingbridge rape cases was also excellent and very illuminating compared to what I had read in the press and online at the time. If you've ever read something in the news and thought - hmm, I bet it's probably more complicated than what I'm getting from the Guardian/Times/Telegraph/BBC - usually this podcast has the nuance and legal context missing from most articles.

The presenters are also incredibly articulate while speaking entirely off the cuff, as you would expect from KCs talking to each other - though they do have that barrister trick of slowing...down........their...delivery instead of umming or ahhing to give themselves time to think their words through before they say them. Still an absolute pleasure to listen to compared to politicians or even journalists.

Thank you Xiao, I’m a sucker for intelligent discussion and this sounds excellent - will listen.

Agree, excellent podcast (I particularly like the intro tune) and an excellent episode.
I listened to it yesterday and I remember having a question about it but darned it I can remember what it was!

Thank you, will listen!