Mark Hatcher

With the formal process of disengagement about to begin, Mark Hatcher examines the challenges faced in converting a huge corpus of EU law and delivering Brexit

Brexit continues to dominate life at Westminster. 

With the triggering of Art 50 imminent, Mark Hatcher examines preparations in Westminster and Whitehall, with a white paper providing some comfort to the Bar

Tucked away behind the Old Treasury Building at No 9 Downing Street is the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU). 

Six months on from the ‘quiet revolution’, Theresa May’s vision for post-Brexit Britain is becoming clearer. Mark Hatcher examines the Prime Minister’s domestic agenda

A little over six months after she was appointed Prime Minister last July, and barely eight weeks before the government formally invokes Art 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, Theresa May’s vision for post-Brexit Britain is becoming clearer. 

In this ‘post-truth’ age, Mark Hatcher looks back at the seismic events of 2016 and what will dominate Westminster politics in 2017 – is change in the air? 

2016 will be remembered for two seismic events which have rocked the political classes on both sides of the Atlantic: the decision of the UK to withdraw from the EU and the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. 

Rule of law and judicial independence are critical to the maintenance of a healthy body politic as we face some of the greatest challenges of our time, writes Mark Hatcher

Earlier this year Donald Trump claimed that US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel of San Diego was unfit to hear two lawsuits against the now-defunct Trump University because ‘he’s a Mexican’. 

Mark Hatcher on the Great Repeal Bill, legal black holes and bonfires of red tape that will dominate Whitehall and Westminster for the foreseeable future

The Foreign Office document published at the beginning of the year which outlined the process for withdrawing from the European Union (Cm 9216) was unequivocal.

Westminster village begins to recover its equilibrium after the EU vote, grappling with the machinery of change and arrangements to scrutinise Brexit policy

In 1886 the Liberal politician, Joseph Chamberlain is reported to have said: ‘In politics, there is no use in looking beyond the next fortnight.’ 

With Bar wellbeing firmly centre stage, Mark Hatcher meets the preachers of the Inns to examine what they can offer to barristers – of all faiths and none

‘The Bar can sometimes feel a lonely place,’ says Rachel Spearing, a criminal practitioner who has played a leading role in the Wellbeing at the Bar initiative. 

As the nation readies itself to vote on Europe, Mark Hatcher considers the diminishing trust in the political class and steadying influence of the select committee

I am writing this column six days before the EU referendum – such is the publisher’s immutable deadline. 

Mark Hatcher distils for the Bar another busy month in Westminster – Super Thursday and a One-Nation-themed Queen’s Speech.

The UK’s ‘Super Thursday’ results on 6 May provided the first significant verdicts on the UK political situation since last year’s General Election. The outcome was a disaster for Labour.