2026 News

A woman from Preston whose husband died from mesothelioma, a cancer primarily caused by exposure to asbestos, has received a six-figure settlement from his former employer.

Campaign and environment group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (CAGNE) have applied for permission to appeal the High Court’s decision to dismiss its legal challenge against the government’s approval of Gatwick Airport’s second runway.

Medical negligence lawyers at Leigh Day have welcomed the government’s announcement to appoint the UK’s first Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner following Baroness Valerie Amos’s independent review of maternity and neonatal services, describing the move as an important step towards improving safety, accountability and consistency of care across England.

The abuse team at law firm Leigh Day has been contacted by more than 50 families who have made allegations about punitive disciplinary practices in schools.

The High Court has ruled that a trial should be held in May 2028 to consider a legal claim by more than 1700 Malawian villagers against Primark owner Associated British Foods plc (ABF), following flooding that destroyed their village and left five adults and two children dead.

A leading medical negligence lawyer has said the publication of the Ockenden review into Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust must be a turning point for maternity care in England, warning that families are still experiencing many of the same failings exposed in maternity investigations over the past decade.

People have until the August Bank Holiday to join a group legal action over pollution in the rivers Wye, Lugg and Usk, the largest environmental pollution claim of its kind in the UK.

Medical negligence partner Sanja Strkljevic told leading clinicians, researchers, policymakers and journalists that patient safety must remain at the heart of efforts to improve maternity care as she addressed the Medical Journalists' Association (MJA) Symposium 2026.

South Tyneside social workers missed opportunities to assess the capacity of an 84-year-old man who died after a fire at the South Shields bungalow where he lived alone, a coroner said as part of a narrative conclusion at inquest.

Leigh Day environment and public law team partner Ricardo Gama has been named in this year’s ENDS Report Power List, which names 100 of the most influential environmental professionals and campaigners in the UK.

Human rights lawyers at Leigh Day have been named runners-up in the Best Use of Law category at the 2026 National Campaigner Awards, hosted by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK), for its legal work helping to secure a reversal by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) in significant academic freedom case.

A British Jordanian NHS doctor bringing discrimination and harassment claims after he was suspended from his job at the Royal Free Hospital in London following a complaint about his social media posts relating to the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza will have his case heard at the London Central Employment Tribunal from 15 June 2026.