Monday 7 September 2026
Your weekly SQE Prep Quiz has arrived
Dear Subscriber,
Hope you had a great weekend. Please see below for the question, the answer to the previous question and associated resources. This is the web version of this newsletter.
NEW: I will be holding a live FLK Contract Law SQE Super Session on 19 September. 30 Places available upon application. If you would like to join, fill in the no commitment expression of interest form on http://events.dryannis.co.uk/ , but hurry as places are filling up fast.
Livestreams starting again! Join me live this Wednesday 1pm for FLK2 Criminal Liability and Practice MCQs https://youtube.com/live/3Xq9GfrXeF0
This Week’s Question: A vulnerable man is arrested on suspicion of robbery. The custody officer records that he requires an appropriate adult, but police begin an interview before one arrives because they want to obtain an account quickly. No exceptional circumstances justify an urgent interview. After prolonged questioning, the man admits participating in the robbery. At trial, the prosecution seeks to rely on the admission, and the defence challenges its admissibility. Which of the following best describes the court’s approach to the confession?
A. The confession must automatically be admitted because the man was cautioned before making it and its truth is ultimately a matter for the jury.
B. The confession must automatically be excluded because any breach of a PACE Code renders evidence obtained during the interview inadmissible.
C. The confession can be excluded only if the defence proves on the balance of probabilities that the police deliberately caused the man to make a false admission.
D. If the confession may have been obtained by oppression or by something likely to render it unreliable, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was not so obtained; the court may also consider exclusion under section 78 PACE.
E. The confession is admissible unless the man can establish that the absence of an appropriate adult amounted to oppression within the statutory definition.
Dig Deeper: Want to revise Criminal Law and Practice while relaxing? I have the perfect video for you! Watch https://youtu.be/UHPob_4HqbI
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Last Week’s Question: A solicitors’ firm fails to obtain replacement qualifying professional indemnity insurance before its existing policy expires. It also fails to secure replacement insurance during the subsequent extended policy period and therefore enters the cessation period. The firm has several ongoing conveyancing matters approaching completion and is also approached by a new client seeking urgent advice. The partners hope to continue operating while searching for replacement insurance. Which of the following best describes what the firm may do during the cessation period?
A. It may continue all existing matters and accept new instructions provided clients are informed that replacement insurance is still being sought.
B. It may continue existing matters without restriction but must not accept new instructions until qualifying professional indemnity insurance has been obtained.
C. It may undertake only work necessary to discharge obligations arising from existing instructions and must not accept new private practice instructions.
D. It must immediately stop all legal work, including work required to protect the interests of clients whose instructions were accepted before the cessation period.
E. It may continue existing and new matters during the cessation period because its previous insurer remains responsible for all professional liabilities during that period.
Correct answer: C. It may undertake only work necessary to discharge obligations arising from existing instructions and must not accept new private practice instructions. Feedback: Professional indemnity insurance forms part of FLK1 Legal Services, including the SRA’s regulatory requirements governing solicitors’ firms. An authorised body carrying on private legal practice must take out and maintain qualifying insurance in accordance with the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules. Where a firm fails to obtain replacement qualifying insurance before its existing policy expires, the regulatory scheme provides an extended policy period. If the firm still fails to obtain qualifying insurance during that period, it enters the cessation period. The important restriction arises under rule 4.2 of the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules. During the cessation period, the firm, its principals and its employees must not undertake activities connected with private legal practice or accept new instructions, except where the activity is necessary to discharge obligations falling within the scope of existing instructions. The firm therefore cannot simply carry on business as usual. It may undertake necessary work on existing matters—for example, steps needed to protect clients’ interests—but it cannot use the cessation period as an ordinary extension of practice while continuing to take on new clients. The other options are incorrect because:
A is incorrect because informing clients does not permit the firm to accept new instructions during the cessation period.
B is incorrect because work on existing matters is not unrestricted; it must be necessary to discharge obligations arising from existing instructions.
D is incorrect because the rules expressly permit limited work necessary to deal properly with existing instructions.
E is incorrect because continuing insurance protection does not give the firm unrestricted permission to continue practising or accept new work.
The firm must also cease practice promptly and, unless qualifying insurance is obtained, by no later than the expiry of the cessation period. SQE1 takeaway: The cessation period is not a grace period for normal practice. A firm without replacement qualifying insurance may carry out only the work necessary to deal with existing instructions and cannot accept new private practice work.
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All the best
Dr Ioannis (Yannis) Glinavos
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